No Man's Land
by nikkithedead
Summary: Sam has broken up with Quinn, and it's the final straw. She's done with men, forever.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place from Sam's break up with Quinn in my other story "Who is Sam Evans?"

You don't have to have read that story since basically all you need to know is that Sam dumped Quinn and she's pissed.

Mercedes walked into Quinn's house, knowing immediately that something was wrong. The door at been left wide open and the house was dead quiet, except for a long, slow scratching sound coming from somewhere inside.

Her first thoughts was that the house had been robbed and she was going to walk in to find Quinn beaten and lying on the carpet, trying to pull herself across the room to call 911.

She walked slowly through the house, following the scratching sounds that she assumed would lead her to her hopefully still able-bodied friend.

She found Quinn sitting cross legged on a couch in her living room, scratching at something on a piece of paper with a knife. A broken picture frame lay beside her, and across the room it looked like someone had thrown something ceramic at the fire place.

Her next thoughts were that Quinn had lost her mind.

She was pretty close.

"Quinn...you ok?" she asked tentatively, sitting down next to her and never taking her eyes off the knife in her hands. Quinn looked at her, a strange expression in her eyes. Part anger, part hurt and part something Mercedes couldn't and didn't want to name. She could see now that the paper in her hands was a picture of her and Sam, and she was slowly scratching Sam's face off.

Yup, definite mind loss-age.

"Quinn, sweetie...what are you doing?" Mercedes asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

"Scratching Sam out of this picture" Quinn said. Mercedes noticed she was blinking a lot less than usual. It was very creepy.

"Yes, Ok I can see that...but why."

Quinn continued to stare at her, unblinking, for several seconds before answering. She turned away and went back to her face-scratching. When she did answer, it was so quietly that Mercedes barely heard what she said.

"...Sam dumped me. Said he didn't want to be with me anymore, because he didn't know who he was."

"...And what did you do?" Mercedes asked hesitantly, worried she might have to help Quinn dispose of a body.

"Broke a vase and yelled" Quinn said plainly, never pausing in her slow, rhythmic scratching.

"Ok...well thats good...but sweetie, don't you think you behaving a little, well...in-frickin-sanely?"

Quinn stopped her scratching and turned to Mercedes.

"Nope." She said before taking her knife and stabbing the picture.

"Ok, girl that is enough." Mercedes took the knife and now destroyed picture from Quinn before she could stab it again. Quinn offered a small "Hey!" in protest, but otherwise did nothing.

"Your upset, I get that. No one likes to be dumped, trust me I...ok well I don't know, but I can imagine." Quinn stared at her blankly, and she continued "But this is not ok. You can't freak out and go nuts just cuz some puff-lipped boy doesn't want to date you anymore. It sucks, sure, but your better than him, and better than this" Mercedes finished, gesturing to the torn picture and knife.

Quinn looked down, her hands folded in her lap, not speaking again. Mercedes waited for her to answer.

Finally, Quinn spoke. "Its not just him. Its all of them." Mercedes nodded in understanding, realizing she meant men.

"I'm just sick of their fucking bullshit. Finn, Puck, Sam. It doesn't matter, their all the same and I've had enough of it."

Two hours later, Quinn and Mercedes were basically in the exact same place then been before. The only differences were they had moved up to Quinn's bedroom.

Instead of taking her frustrations out an innocent photograph, Quinn was currently taking her frustrations out on an innocent bowl of Ben & Jerry's and Mercedes ears. Mercedes was sitting next to her, picking at piece of pizza, and at the same time trying not strangle her friend.

It wasn't that she wasn't compassionate, its just that after two hours of listening to Quinn bitch about how men were responsible for all the evil in the world, she was about an hour and a half past fed-up.

"And another thing" Quinn was saying, stabbing her ice-cream with a spoon "Have you ever noticed how men seem to just be at the root of every feminine problem. Menstrual cycle, Menopause, Guy-necologist. It's like they just need to…*"

"No More!" Mercedes shouted, cutting Quinn off mid-rant. "I simply can not take one more second of this...this...whining. Don't you look at me like that. You are whining and have been for what feels like the last 10 billion years. I refuse to endure one more second."

Quinn made no attempts to reply. Instead she just stared angrily at the bowl in lap, as though it was the one telling her to shut up.

"Quinn, we are not going to sit here complaining about how you no longer have a man, eating ice cream and acting like a pair of dopey female stereotypes from a TV show about teenagers with problems."

"We're not?"

"No, we're not."

"...Why not?"

"BECAUSE!"

"Because why?"

"Because I am about to strangle you with this pizza. That's why. And don't think I can't do that. I've got moves."

Quinn stared at Mercedes, trying to decide whether to punch her or laugh. Because she would be lonely if Mercedes left (as she would surely do after being punched) she chose the latter.

"That's more like it. Now get your skinny white-ass off this bed and go find something cute to wear." Mercedes instructed, having gotten off the bed herself. She was holding her pizza up in one hand like it was a weapon, and the effect was so comically threatening that Quinn dared not argue.

"Can you at least tell me why I'm doing this? I assume we're going somewhere...or are we just playing dress-up?"

Mercedes raised an eyebrow and put her hand on her hip. "Don't you be smart with me. Yes, we're going somewhere. And yes, even though you didn't ask, its going to be awweesooommme" she said, singing the last word in a high excited voice.

"And this awesome place is..."

"Its a karoke bar Kurt and I discovered about a month ago. It's called Chant, and tt's about 30 minutes from here, so we could only go twice so far but it seemed pretty fly."

Quinn grimaced. "A karoke bar? Mecedes, singing in the last thing I feel like doing now."

"Oh don't be like that, it'll be nice to sing with no pressures for a change. Just for fun. No Rachel 'I'm going to be the world's biggest star so you should all start kissing my feet right now' Berry giving you the stink eye, no Mr. Shue and his no-follow-through pep talks, no worries." Mercedes walked over to Quinn and poked her encouragingly in the shoulder.

"You'll have fun, I swear on my ability to hold final notes for a freakishly long time."

Quinn made a face, then sighed. "Fine, I'll go. But you can't complain when I only feel like singing Alanis Morissette**."

Mercedes squealed and clapped her hands together excitedly. "I promise, no such complaints will come from my incredibly luscious lips" she said, hugging Quinn and smiling obnoxiously.

*Just for the record, I in no way come to that realization myself. I read it on the internet. And I am also aware that is not how to spell gynecologist, but I needed to illustrate my point.

**Funny side note, when I typed in Morissette my auto-correct changed it to merriest. Now that's ironic.


	2. Chapter 2

The opinions of the characters in this chapter are only representative of what I thought that character would think or feel, not my own opinions.

Chapter 2:

An hour later, Mercedes arrived at Chant, with a very reluctant Quinn in tow. It was a small club, with a big stage the front for people to sing on and a bar at the back. In between, there were a lot of small tables with small fake candles on top. Next to the table area was a very small section provided for people to dance, although not many people ever seemed to use it as the only music was provided by those brave or drunk enough to sing.

On stage now was a short brunette girl singing about someone named "Victoria"*. She looked at the girl and wished Kurt was here comment on people's outfits with her. The girl on stage was wearing a green corseted tank-top, a black skirt and what looked like a pair of mens work boots. The effect was fairly off-putting.

Outfit aside, Mercedes was surprised to note that she had some fairly impressive pipes. She wasn't next-big-broadway star good, but for a karaoke bar in the middle of nowhere, she could definitely hold her own. Mercedes said so to Quinn, commenting on the girl's shoes as well. Quinn mumbled a half-hearted agreement before making her way over to the bar.

Mercedes followed and took a seat next to her. Behind the bar was a large sign that said "Under 21? You can cry us a river until the fat lady sings but NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES". Underneath was a cartoon of a fat lady standing in a river with a big red X over her. Mercedes laughed and pointed out the sign to Quinn.

Quinn turned and looked at the sign, frowning. "How can you laugh at that?" She said seriously, and Mercedes raised an eye-brow at her. "All I see when I look at that is another woman being objectified and personified by the male society she is forced to exist in."

Mercedes stared at her friend, opened her mouth and then shut it again. Instead of responding, she ordered a diet coke, unsure of what might come out if she did.

"So, are we gonna sing or what?" Quinn asked when Mercedes' diet coke arrived. "Thats why we're here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but you haven't exactly been Miss. Happy-Sunshine-Lets-all-sing-a-song since we got here. I figured no way you were gettin' up there".

"OK, 1) If I am ever 'Miss. Happy-Sunshine-Lets-all-sing-a-song' I want you to kill me quickly, and 2) Why not? Its not like I have any pride left. Im pretty sure whatever was left of that died around week two of playing oblivious girlfriend with someone who couldn't stand to be with me."

Before Mercedes could protest (or yell at her) Quinn grabbed her diet coke, downed it and made her way over to the stage.

Next to the stage was a piece of paper labeled "Karaoke Playlist". There was a list of names on it, and next to each name was the song said person was singing. Half the names at the top of the list were crossed off, and Quinn assumed that meant they had already gone. She noticed that there were a few names that appeared several times.

Apparently some people really liked karaoke.

The next name not crossed off was "Marcus" and just as Quinn noted he was going to sing "Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry, the song started playing.

There were a few more names signed up after "Marcus" and Quinn wrote her name down after them and the song she would sing. After a moment, she signed up Mercedes too. This was her idea after all.

As she was standing there trying to decide what song Mercedes should sing, the brunette girl that had just been singing came out from behind what Quinn assumed was backstage, followed by a middle aged guy dressed all in black (except his shoes, which were a bright lime green). As they got closer to where Quinn was standing she could hear that they were arguing about something.

"But its not fair. Not just to me, and not just to everyone in the club, but to every single piece of decent music in the entire world, as well!" The girl was saying. The man was staring at her impatiently, obviously having heard similar complaints before.

"Listen sweets, I've told you once and if I have to tell you again I will ban you from the club" the man began sternly "I cannot stop people from singing Katy Perry!".

The girl opened her mouth to retort, but the man in the green shoes cut her off "OR Justin Beiber, OR Kanye West, or anyone else you've ever complained about."

It would appear they had had this conversation before. The girl pouted and tucked her hair behind her ear, which Quinn could see was covered with piercings. Gross, she thought.

"Maybe we should get someone else's opinion. Hey, blondie" piercing girl said, turning to Quinn.

Quinn grimaced, not liking the chick in front of her, and liking being called "blondie" even less.

"Yes?" she responded unenthusiastically.

"Do you think people should be allowed to continue to violate the hard work of talented musicians all over the world by insisting on vocalizing this dribble they call 'popular music'?" she said dramatically.

Before Quinn could respond, the man cut her off, something it would appear he was fond of doing. "Listen sweets you need to remember that that is your opinion." He put a hand on her shoulder as he spoke. Quinn could see now that he was wearing a name tag, and obviously worked here. The name tag read "D. O'Brien" and underneath that it said "HDIC". Quinn assumed that was his title, but she had no idea what it meant.

"I like Katy Perry" Quinn volunteered. They both turned to look at her. "But I can't say I'm big on the 'Beibes' or Kanye".

"Ha!" the girl screeched. "I told you so" she crossed her arms triumphantly.

'D. O'Brien' sighed. "Thats just one person agreeing with you. And she didn't even agree with everything. Sorry sweets, your not winning this. Katy stays." He walked away, and the girl pouted for a moment, before remembering Quinn standing there.

"Katy Perry? Really?" She said, with a look of disdain on her face.

"I'm not going to justify my tastes to you" Quinn said, crossing her arms.

The girl frowned. "Hey, I'm sorry" she said. "I forget sometimes that my opinion is not the opinion of everyone in the world. I guess I'm sort of a bitch when it comes to music..."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Guess so."

The girl smiled. "At least you know enough not to like Justin Beiber" she joked.

"Yeah but thats probably only because of his hair similarities to my ex, who is a soulless creep." Quinn muttered angrily.

"Wow, that bad huh? What'd he do?"

"Well, first of all he…" Quinn thought for a moment, and sighed.

"Ok fine maybe 'soulless creep' is a little harsh...I guess I'm so upset about it because I'm just fed up with men in general..."

As Quinn began to tell the pierced girl about her past experiences involving the opposite sex, Mercedes was still at the bar. She would have been bored, and upset with Quinn for ditching her (not to mention drinking her diet coke- thank god for free refills) if it was not for the extreme cuteness of the bartender.

She moved over a few barstools until she was sitting in front of him. He was cleaning glasses, and seemed extremely concentrated on doing so.

Ignoring that, Mercedes said "Hey, cool sign".

"Thanks. I drew it." He said, not looking up.

"Really, how'd a bar tender get so good at art?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes. Not that he noticed, since he was still only looking at the glass he was currently cleaning.

"During the day I go to design school. Can I get you something?" He asked, finally looking up.

"Yeah, I was wondering just how strict that sign is" she asked, referring to the "No alcoholic drinks for those under 21" policy the sign enforced.

"Very." He said, raising his eyebrows and giving her a "don't even try it, kid" look.

Ignoring the look, Mercedes continued. "What if I offer to put all four-on-the-floor with ya" she said jokingly.

Apparently, he did not find this funny. He put the glass down with a sigh and leaned his face close to hers. "I just told you I go to design school, and at night I'm a bartender at a karaoke bar" he put his elbows on the bar, resting his chin on his hands. "What do you think the odds that I'm not gay are?" he asked rhetorically.

Mercedes blushed. "Right...sorry." He lifted an eyebrow at her, and picked up his cloth and glass once again.

Mercedes thought for a minute, then smiled. "You should meet my friend Kurt. He's come here with me a few times. He's gay too, and very lonely. Seriously, dude needs a man more than lady-dwarves need high-heels."

The bar tender sighed again. He looked Mercedes in the eye. "Kid, how old are you?"

"17" she said, placing her hand on her hip.

"Well, I'm 27. I'm a bartender, and I have a motorcycle. Now, are you sure you want me to meet your young, impressionable, gay friend?" He asked, staring at her intensely.

Mercedes thought about what he said. She looked at him, and could see at least 3 tattoos (2 on his arms, and one on his neck). She blinked, said "'scuse me" and then took off to find Quinn, mentally strangling her for leaving her alone with such a creep.

As Mercedes searched for her, Quinn was just finished telling her new friend about her crappy past school year. "And this year I was determined not to need a man. I was going to be totally independent. And then stupid Sam shows up with this fake-blond hair and sexy mouth...". The girl nodded, as if she knew all about fake-blond hair and sexy mouths.

"You know, I've been complaining to you all this time" Quinn said suddenly "And I don't know your name."

"My name is Kate" the girl said, smiling and leaning forward. "As in 'kiss me'."

Just then, a beeping sound came from Quinn's purse. She recognized the noise as her cell phone receiving a text message, and reached inside her purse to see who it was from. When she took the phone out, she accidentally dropped the phone onto the ground, where it rolled underneath the table.

She rolled her eyes and crouched down to get it, crawling underneath the table. It was disgusting underneath and she tried not to think about all the gum that was most likely above her head as she picked her phone back up. The phone's light was on, and it illuminated Quinn's surroundings. From here she could see the boots Kate was wearing were definitely men's work boots. Not only that, but she was wearing different colored socks. She pulled one up to make sure, and heard a "Hey!" come from above her. Quinn giggled, still under the table.

"Your wearing different colored socks, do you know that?" she said, and the girl ducked her head under to look.

"I am not! There both blue, see" Kate said, leaning down to look at them.

"No, this one is blue this one is indigo" Quinn said, pointing the light from her cellphone at them.

"Your nuts. They're blue." she insisted.

"I am telling you, this one is..." Quinn began, then heard a voice from behind her.

"Quinn, what are you doing?" Mercedes asked, raising her eyebrows as she climbed up from underneath the table.

"I was...my phone fell." Quinn said, embarrassed. Kate giggled.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and sat down. "So, you come to this club often?" she said, nodding towards Kate.

"Yeah, my friends and I love it, so we come whenever we can." Kate said, waving her hand in the direction of a few kids at a table near the back.

"Thats cool, I've come a few times before with another friend, but this is Quinn's first time."

"Oh, Quinn. That's you I assume?" Kate said, smiling. Quinn nodded. "Well, Quinn, congrats on the de-virginating."

Quinn blushed.

Her, Mercedes and Kate spent the rest of the night talking at their table. Quinn and Mercedes never ended up singing, and Kate didn't go back to her friends.

*theoretically she is singing "Victoria" by the Kinks. I am fairly sure this song is about the Queen.

A/N I debated a lot about removing Mercedes' conversation with the bartender, but decided to keep it because it gave Quinn time to recap her story to Kate.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Quinn went home that night feeling a lot better then she had at the start of the evening. She hadn't realized how much she had missed hanging out with Mercedes. Chant seemed like a cool place, and they had made a plan with Kate to meet there again next Saturday.

Quinn had loved the relaxed atmosphere, and was looking forward to singing at a place where it didn't matter if she sucked or not. Not that she did, of course.

Mercedes seemed less thrilled with it than she had before, saying that the bartender creeped her out. When Quinn had asked her if something happened between them, she got a funny look on her face and became very quiet.

As Quinn got ready for bed, her cell phone beeped at her. She picked up and saw she had received a text message from Kate. It said:

**You were right. My socks are different colours. No idea how that happened…**

Quinn laughed. She sent one back saying "**I told you so**".

She received a reply from Kate a few minutes later, and they spent the next few hours text messaging back and forth. Eventually Quinn realized it was past midnight, and had to go to bed. Kate's last text message of the night read:

**G'Night Beautiful**

Quinn read the text message, and considered responding but decided against it. She shut her phone, and went to sleep.

* * *

Quinn woke up in the morning, very abruptly, to a loud shrill ringing sound. She lay there, half asleep for a minute before realizing she was hearing the phone ring. She groaned, and leaned over to her night table to check to the caller ID.

UNKNOWN NUMBER

It flashed at her. Great. Now she had to pick it up, it could be someone important.

She grudgingly picked up the phone and asked who it was.

"It's Sam but PLEASE DON'T HANG UP" the voice on the other end shouted at her. She growled. He must have blocked his number from appearing, wily bastard.

"You woke me up" she responded angrily. "And yesterday you BROKE me up."

She quickly went over what she had just said, and realized it made no sense. "Broke up with me, I mean. I'm tired." She did not want to be having this conversation now, half asleep and very out of it.

"So gimme one reason I shouldn't hang up?" she continued, hoping she sounded threatening and not drunk, which was sort of how she felt.

"Because I am calling to beg pathetically for your forgiveness?" he said, sounding truly pathetic. She sighed.

"You have 30 seconds. Go"

"Ok, thank you. I wanted to say I am very sorry for upsetting you so much yesterday. Your a great person, and you were a perfect girlfriend. I never meant to hurt you."

She considered what he was saying...maybe he'd realized he had made a mistake, and wanted her back...not that she would take him back.

Of course not.

"Go on" she said slowly.

"But I think our break up was for the best because..." he continued, but Quinn cut him off. That was not what she wanted to hear.

"WRONG ANSWER" she screamed into the phone, making a sound like a buzzer. She knew it was childish, but she didn't care. _Screw maturity_...she thought, slamming down the phone.

She lay back down in bed, and tried to fall back asleep. This was not a good start to her first official day as a newly single person, and she wasn't looking forward to getting up and experiencing the rest of it.

The light from outside shone through her window, making it difficult for her to go back to sleep.

She sighed again, giving up. She was up, no use going back to sleep. Stupid Sam, he couldn't have waited a few more hours? She sat up, rubbed her eyes and reached for her cellphone. Without thinking, she sent a message to Kate.

**Stupid ex called woke me up. Don't WANT to get up. First day single. Blehhhh.**

Quinn got out of bed, and began getting dressed. She received her reply from Kate while she was brushing her teeth.

**What'd he want? Beggin for you back?**

Quinn read the text and groaned.

_I wish,_ she thought, then mentally slapped herself.

_No I do NOT wish._ She told herself firmly. _I do not need him, or...anyone._

**Close. For forgiveness, but still says breakup was 'for the best'. FML. Today sucks.**

Kate's reply came quickly, and was not anything Quinn wanted to read.

**Oh its not so bad. Monday will be much worse. Enjoy Today :)**

She made a face, groaning again. Kate was right. Monday was not going to be fun. She hoped Sam was smart enough to not talk to her...particularly after their conversation this morning, seeing him might set off something terrible.

**Thanks for reminding me. Might kill him when I see him. Is that bad?**

After she sent her reply to Kate, she went downstairs to get breakfast, taking her laptop with her.

When she got downstairs, the quiet of the house and a note on the table told her her mother had gone to the gym. Ever since she had left her father, she had been trying to improve her appearance. It sort of freaked Quinn out.

She sat down to eat her cereal, and turned on her laptop. She logged onto facebook and saw that she had one friend request.

She smiled, and accepted the request of** KATE S.**, who immediately appeared in the **Chat** section.

She clicked on her name, and was about to say "hello" when a message appeared.

**Kate S:**

Hey, don't you love the finality of the facebook relationship status?

Quinn wasn't sure what she meant, until she looked up at her profile. Sure it enough, under "recent activity" it said: Quinn Fabray is now single.

She groaned for what felt like the 50th time that morning. Sam must have changed it last night.

She re-opened her chat with Kate.

**Quinn Fabray:**

Ya, its a wonderful way to wake up

Kill me now

**Kate S:**

:(

**Quinn Fabray:**

I don't know what I'm going to do on Monday…

**Kate S:**

Avoid him?

Or kill him?

**Quinn Fabray:**

I cant

Avoid him I mean

I suppose I could kill him…

**Kate S:**

I'll help you hide the body

Why can't you avoid him?

**Quinn Fabray:**

We have two classes together

**Kate S:**

Don't sit near him?

**Quinn Fabray:**

We also have Glee Club together

**Kate S:**

Skip it?

**Quinn:**

What if he talks to me? I might punch him.

Wouldn't be able to stop myself. Fists have minds of their own.

**Kate S:**

Ignore him?

Punch him and deal with the guilt?

**Quinn:**

Guilt is for the weak.

**Kate S:**

…

I like the way you think

:)

They chatted like that for the next few hours, until Kate had to go to a guitar lesson. Quinn decided she might as well do her homework. It wasn't like she had anything else to do...

She took out her spanish textbook and started working, thinking about Kate's advice as she did. She supposed ignoring him was the best option for now. She wasn't mad, as long as she didn't think about it.

When she started thinking about it, her stomach started to boil and her fists clenched up and...well, it was better to just not think about it.

Eventually, she knew she would move on and forgive him just like she did Finn and Puck. Then she could go out, and find some other brainless moron to get involved with, and repeat the whole thing…

No.

She would not do that. Not this time. She was done with men.

But for real this time.

* * *

Monday morning came, and Quinn went to school feeling more confident than she thought herself capable of. She had spoken, through text message and facebook, to Kate a few more times over the weekend and Kate had given her several of what she assumed Kate thought of as a pep talk.

They mostly consisted of Kate telling her she didn't need Sam, and more importantly didn't need to feel bad about getting dumped because through out her life time a lot worse things were going to happen, and she would need to save being sad for those instance's.

Despite Quinn's insistence that this type of advice was not helpful, after a few of these "pep talks", she was surprised to find she did feel better. Maybe it would be ok.

As long as he stayed away from her.

She went to school feeling confident and in control. She was determined not to let this minor issue disrupt her life. She was a strong, independent woman and she did not need a man to complete her*.

Her confidence lasted about 10 minutes, which was all the time it took Sam to find her at her locker and try to talk to her.

"Quinn, please talk to me. I feel really bad..."

She closed her eyes. How could he be so stupid? Did he not realize she was very much not in the mood for doing this? She was about to turn around and verbally murder him, when a familar beep-beep sound from her pocket distracted her, and probably saved Sam's life.

She took her phone out, shutting her locker and walking away like she hand't even realized he was there. She smiled as she walked, thrilled at how she had handled the situation, and mentally thanking whoever it was who texted her for snapping her out of her ready-to-murder daze.

The text was, of course, from Kate.

It said: **REMEMBER TO IGNORE HIM!**

Quinn laughed, and put her phone back in her bag. How could Kate have known her for so little and already know her so well? Maybe she was psychic.

The rest of the day wasn't much better.

Quinn sat on the opposite side of the room from him in both their classes trying to pretend she had no idea he was even in that class.

Blessedly he didn't try and speak to her in either of them.

At lunch, she sat with the cheerios. It had been awhile since she'd eaten with them (although "eaten" may not be the right word; they basically filled their plates with salad and then stared at them).

As she stared at her salad, not daring to attract attention by eating it, she thought about what she was going to do about Glee club. Mr. Schue would not be happy about her skipping with no excuse, and she couldn't do that all week…

As the cheerios began chatting about the things they thought were of utmost importance, Brittany became the center of attention, having discovered a new type of lipstick that when applied, had a dangerous chemical reaction with your saliva and created a pouty, bee-stung look.

"Its waaaaay better than the others that say they plump your lips, but really just make them feel like their buzzing on your face." She was saying, as everyone stared intently at her, completely transfixed with what she was saying. Quinn refrained from rolling her eyes.

"The first time I used one of those, I thought it had an evil curse in it that turned my lips to bees." She said, lowering her head sadly. Santana placed a hand sympathetically over Brittany's.

"So this one doesn't make your lips buzz?" Another cheerio asked. Brittany shook her head.

"No, see thats part of the chemical contraction. It temporarily shuts down all the nerve endings in your lips so you don't feel anything. It makes it hard to speak though...and swallow..." she said, tilting her head to the left. "But your lips look great. Here, I'll show you." She pulled out a tube of lipstick from her bag and applied it.

As everyone began oohing and ahhing over Brittany's new puffy lips, Quinn put her head in her hands, bored out of her mind. She didn't think she could take one more second of this. She was just about to excuse herself, when another cheerio, whose name Quinn was pretty sure was either Jessica or Angela, came rushing over about to cry.

"Whats wrong Rebecca?" Brittany asked. Ok, she had been close…

"I was just with Coach Sylvester, she caught me in the hallway. Apparently she was re-watching the video she made of our last practice, and on her 19th viewing she decided that we were all terrible and need to practice more."

"More!" Santana shouted, throwing her hands in the air. "How could we practice _more than we already do!_"

"I practice so much, I woke up the other day doing a hand-stand in my sleep. On top of my cat." Brittany said, with no expression on her face. "I'm pretty sure she peed in my hair."

A few cheerleaders grimaced, but most were so used to Brittany's over sharing that they didn't even notice.

"So when else are we going to practice?" Santana said, holding her nail file in her hand like a weapon.

"Today after school is when she told me" Rebecca sniffed.

Brittany's eyes widened. "But we have Glee then!" she complained, as Santana muttered what sounded like a death threat under her breath.

Quinn's eyes widened too, but for a different reason. Cheerio practice was a perfect excuse for missing Glee.

"Listen you guys" Quinn said, standing up. They all turned to stare at her. "If Coach Sylvester thinks we need to practice more, then _we need to practice more_. She must have a good reason for thinking we need the extra practice, and so we're just going to have to suck it up and do it..."

"...even if it means missing Glee club everyday this week" she added to Brittany and Santana, who each glared at her. Inwardly, she did a little dance.

* * *

Practice that day was brutal, something was definitely wrong with Coach Sylvester. Possibly someone had insulted her hair. She hated that.

She had them practice their routine 9 times, at an increased pace each time. Everyone that day went home sore and angry, with all feeling gone from their everything.

Quinn was in pain all over, but she didn't care. She had gotten through her first school day without Sam and no one had even mentioned it. In the back of her mind, she was a little bothered by that. At the height of her popularity, her break up with Sam would have made the front page of the school newspaper. Now, nothing.

She sighed, and crashed on her bed, telling herself she didn't care about that stuff anymore. It was better this way, she thought tiredly. A moment later she fell asleep, still covered with mud and grass stains and in her Cheerio's uniform.

* * *

Compared to Monday, the rest of the week was highly uneventful. On Tuesday, Rebecca had found her just after first period and told her Coach Sylvester changed her mind, and said they were performing brilliantly, as only a team coached by a genius could.

Extra practice was canceled, even though none had been scheduled past Monday.

Sam made another attempt to talk to her, but she ignored him again. At lunch, she sat with Mercedes out on the field, not being able to bear the thought of another lunch period talking about Brittany's chemically enhanced lips.

"So are you going to be in Glee tomorrow?" She asked, as they sat down on the bleachers.

"I don't know, Mercedes" she said, taking out her lunch, grateful that she was actually able to eat it today. "Sitting in Glee is different from sitting in a class together...it's smaller, we're closer together. I just think it can only end with me strangling him."

Mercedes placed her arm around her. "You really should do something about that violent streak you know. It aint healthy."

Quinn grimaced. "I know, I know. How about this, I'll go Friday, okay? Just give me tomorrow."

Mercedes agreed, and they didn't discuss Sam or Glee for the rest of lunch.

On Wednesday she went home directly after school, hoping that Mr. Schue would understand.

Thursday was also eventful, as Sam seemed to have realized that she was not ready to talk just yet. He did not approach her.

Friday came, and as promised, Quinn went to Glee club, determined not to kill Sam when she saw him.

"OK, I have had a brilliant new idea for next weeks theme!" Mr. Schue said excitedly at the start of glee club. He clapped his hands together, clearly very proud of this theme. Quinn sat up eagerly in her seat, hoping that she could get completely focused on whatever it was. A distracting glee assignment was just what she needed now.

"So, all of you have your niche genres in which you excel" he continued "Rachel and Kurt, you two are superb at broadway numbers, Finn you have classic rock, Mercedes your songs are strong and powerful, and the way you hold those notes..." Quinn looked over at Mercedes as he said this, and she smiled back proudly.

"But when your performing professionally, it won't always be what your most comfortable with," He continued, looking around at each of them. "Or what you can do best. You have to take yourself out of your comfort zones, and try something new."

Across the room, Quinn heard someone whimper.

"For next week, I want you to pick a song like no song you have ever sung. It needs to be new and different, and completely unlike you. But you'll make it fit. As performers, you will mold yourself to it." Quinn looked around at her classmates. Most of them were glaring angrily, obviously not pleased with this new assignment. A few of them, including Mike and Rachel, looked excited. Quinn felt excited too.

"So, you have the rest of the period to start figuring things out. Talk to a member of the club that has a completely different style from you, and maybe use their influence for your performance."

Quinn spent the rest of the period chatting to Mercedes, who suggested she do something very angry. "Get your feelings out, pick something loud."

"Hmm, I don't really want to make my feelings so public..." she said.

Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? That's all we do in this club. You think most glee clubs know so much about their teachers love life. Hell no."

Quinn laughed. "I'll think about it, OK?"

* * *

***Totally stole that line from Freaky Friday.**

**A/N This is like the longest chapter I have ever written. But now the Quinn and Sam stories are almost all caught up.**


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, any opinions expressed in this chapter belong to the characters and not to me.

Chapter 4:

At 5:00 on Saturday, Mercedes picked Quinn up and they headed towards _Chant_. Quinn was in a particularly good mood, and on the drive they discussed what songs they would sing.

Mercedes decided they would pick the songs they should sing by turning on the radio, and going with whatever song was playing. Quinn agreed, and prayed she wouldn't be singing anything by Ke$ha.

Mercedes went first, and turned the radio on. "Firework" by Katy Perry came on, and Mercedes shrugged.

"I'm good." She said. "Your turn." She turned the volume off and changed to a random radio station.

"Ok, so" Mercedes said, turning the volume back up "You are singing...this"

The volume was up loud enough to hear the lyrics, and they listened to see what song it was.

_Oh Sam, Sam, you know where I am  
__Come around and talk awhile  
__I need your smile  
__You need a shoulder  
__Oh Sam, Sam, you know where I am  
__And the door is open wide  
__Come on inside  
__Longing to see you  
__Oh Sam, Sam, you know where I am*_

Mercedes glanced at Quinn, her eyes wide. "Woah...that's just weird..."

Quinn stared at the radio with her mouth open. "Thats...wow."

Mercedes turned the radio off, and smiled. "Its kinda funny though, right? Of all the songs in all of the word..."

Quinn laughed in disbelief. "Yeah, what are the odds...I'm not singing that though."

Mercedes was already changing the radio station, the volume back down low.

"Of course you don't have to sing that...we'll find something else."

"Ok, but I'm doing it this time. You're obviously a jinx or something." Mercedes stuck her tongue out at her, and Quinn laughed and flicked to another station. She crossed her fingers, and turned the volume up.

"Raise Your Glass" by Pink came on, and Quinn sighed. "Good, I can do that."

Mercedes smiled and nodded, keeping her eyes on the road. She seemed to be concentrating very hard on driving all of the sudden. A moment later, she started humming. It took Quinn a moment to recognize the song, and she punched Mercedes (lightly...sort of...).

"Quit humming the 'Sam' song!" she said, shaking her fist. Mercedes laughed.

"Oh come on, its funny!" she said, chuckling to herself.

"It is not funny. Its..I don't know what." Quinn said, crossing her arms and trying to not smile.

15 minutes later, they arrived at _Chant_. For once, no one was on stage singing. Quinn assumed it was because it was still early.

Quinn looked around, and didnt see Kate anywhere. "You wanna get a snack the bar while we wait for Kate to get here?" she asked Mercedes.

Mercedes' eyes widened and she looked nervous. "Uh, why don't you get some nachos and I'll meet you at the table...I need to go...to..." she said, looking frantically around the club as though searching for some place she could say she needed to go to. "...the bathroom..." she finished, spotting the bathrooms near the stage.

She handed Quinn 5 dollars and walked away quickly. Quinn started after her friend, and shrugged. Whatever her problem was, it was her business.

She went over to the bar and ordered some nachos and guacamole. The bartender got them for her and took her money without once looking up or saying anything to her. Quinn got the feeling that he was kind of an asshole.

She took her food and went to sit by a table near the front door, so she could easily see Kate when she came in. Mercedes sat down next to her a moment later.

They sat and chatted for a few more minutes, when all of the sudden Quinn's vision went black, as hands closed over her eyes. She jumped a mile in the air, and almost toppled out of her chair. The hands around her eyes removed themselves when she jumped, and then put themselves around her arms to stop her falling.

"Hi Kate" Quinn said, as Kate leaned her back into her seat.

"Hi Quinn, sorry about that. I didnt mean to scare you." she said, taking a seat.

"These are my friends," she continued, gesturing to the two boys next to her that Quinn had just noticed. "This is Cameron, and this is Matt."

"Cameron" smiled and shook Quinn and Mercedes hands. He had shaggy brown hair and a goofy grin. He was wearing a blue t shirt with a picture of an ice cream cone eating itself. The cone was saying "My God, I'm delicious!"** Quinn didn't no whether or smile or grimace.

"So your Quinn?" the one named Matt said. He had dark blond hair, with different splotches of colour in it. His hair seemed extremely messy, as though he hadnt brushed it...ever.

Quinn nodded. "Katy hasn't shut up about you. But she didnt mention you were a blond. Go figure- OW!" Matt suddenly jumped up and screamed, and Kate looked away, whistling innocently.

"And so you must be Mercedes" Cameron jumped in, trying to smooth things over. "Kate mentioned you, too."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"ANYWAYS," Kate said, changing the subject. "I am very thirsty. Matt, go get some drinks."

"No way!" Matt said, crossing his arms. "Why can't you get it."

"Because he hates me, remember? I'm a girl." she said slowly, as though talking to a two year old.

"Why would that matter?" Quinn asked.

"Because he's gay" Matt and Mercedes replied in unison.

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "So he's just nice to boys? Thats not fair."

Kate patted her on the arm. "No, don't worry. He's a dick to most boys too. He has a specific type. He likes pretty boys." she said, turning towards Matt, who blushed.

"I am not a pretty boy." He defensively.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes, you are. Underneath that paint splattered mop you call hair, your face looks like it was carved from delicate marble. Besides, we know he likes you" she said, raising her eyebrows up and down suggestively. "So try and flirt with him a little, will you? See if you can get us free drinks. Now _go_" she said giving him a little push.

"I hate you passionately" he said, and grudgingly went to get them the drinks.

"Diet coke, please!" Kate called after him.

"Make that two!" Quinn shouted, laughing.

"Three!" Mercedes added.

"I can't believe he's gay..." Quinn said a moment later. "I just assumed that he was an asshole..."

Kate smiled. "Oh he is an asshole. He's just a gay asshole."

"Which, if you think about it, is extremely fitting" Cameron chimed in, and Kate burst out laughing.

Mercedes laughed too, and Quinn smiled a little. By now she was used to the fact that her and Kate had very different senses of humor. "What about Matt? Is he gay?" Quinn asked, glancing over at him by the bar. He was leaning forward on the counter, and did seem to be flirting with the bartender, who was actually smiling.

Kate grinned. "Well, _technically_ he's bisexual but he has never, ever, ever been with a girl, or shown any interest in a girl ever. But still, he insists." She said with a shrug.

Quinn nodded, looking at Matt and the bartender. "I can't believe he's actually flirting. That man did not look capable of emotion."

"You should have seen him last night. This guy went to order something, and he was _so_ his type. His face looked like it was made of porcelain he was so pretty. Anyways, I swear I heard Bruce- thats the bartender- call him 'doll face' at least twice."

Quinn laughed. "Thats pretty funny."

"The blond guy who was with him, who I can only assume was his boyfriend, did not seem to think so."

Mercedes laughed, then got up to help Matt, who was coming back with the drinks.

"Have I mentioned I hate you." He said, sitting down.

"He gave 'em to you free didnt he?" Kate said, smiling wisely. Matt did not reply.

A moment later, a chubby boy who Quinn recognized from the previous week as "Marcus" came on stage and began belting out Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl".

Kate rolled her eyes. "Stupid Marcus..." she mumbled.

Mercedes cringed. "Does he always do Katy Perry?"

Matt and Cameron nodded sadly. "Always." They said together.

"Hey sweets" a voice from behind them said. The manager of the club was standing there, once again dressed all in black except his shoes.

"Hey Dan," Kate said smiling. "How can you be comfortable with this?" She said, gesturing towards the stage, where Marcus was getting way too into the song.

Dan shrugged. "He's happy, I'm happy."

"Whatever. One day, I will have my revenge. And it will be vengeful. And you will know my vengeance."

"Cool." Dan said, nodding his head. "See ya later sweets, Matt, Cameron, Pretty Blond and Mercedes."

Kate laughed, and Quinn frowned. "Why does he know everyone elses name?" she pouted.

"Relax," Kate said, putting her arm around Quinn. "He just hasn't heard your name yet. Once he hears it, he'll remember."

Quinn sighed, and looked at Kate. "Doesn't it bother you when he calls you 'sweets'?"

Kate blinked. "Whaddya mean?"

"He calls you 'sweets', isn't that weird?" she asked again. Kate started at her for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"No, it doesn't bother me, because that's my _name_." She said, still chuckling.

Quinn stared at her, confused.

"Kate Sweets, nice to meet you. " Kate stuck out her hand for Quinn to shake.

"Oh..whoops" Quinn said, feeling her face turn red. "I feel a little stupid."

Kate grinned. "No reason to feel stupid around me, believe me. Besides, your beautiful, so you can get away with it." She said, standing up.

"Come on," she continued. "If we're going to get Marcus out of our heads with some good music, we better go sign up now."

Quinn, Mercedes, Matt and Cameron all followed her, signing up to go on one after another. Kate signed up first, directly after Marcus.

"What are you singing?" Matt asked.

"Well, I've basically sung all my favorite songs at least 3 times each by now, so I looked up something new this time" she said smiling.

"'And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer'" Cameron said solemly, then smiled. "'Benefits of a classical education.'"

Kate rolled her eyes, and Matt shook his head.

Quinn must have looked confused, because Kate leaned over and whispered loudly "Thats a line from _Die Hard_." Quinn giggled, and Cameron shrugged.

Just then, Marcus finished his "song" and made his way off the stage. Kate smiled, and went up the stairs to the backstage area. A moment later, she appeared on the stage, and began singing.

_Oh Susie Q,  
Oh Susie Q,  
Oh Susie Q, baby I love you, Susie Q._

Quinn and the others made their way back to their table, and Quinn watched Kate, impressed. She hadnt noticed before what a good singer she was. Her voice had a deep, throaty quality to it. It was very sexy, actually. Quinn blushed at her own thought, but decided that yes, sexy was the right word.

_I like the way you walk,  
I like the way you talk,  
I like the way you walk, I like the way you talk, Susie Q._

As Quinn watched Kate, she became aware of Matt and Cameron watching her. She turned to them, and blushed.

"What?" she asked.

They grinned.

"Nothing." Cameron said, still grinning. "So...what do you think of Katie? She's pretty cool huh?"

Matt snickered. Quinn narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, she is. I like her, I guess. Why?"

"No reason" Cameron said, innocently. "She likes you, too." He added.

Quinn turned back to the stage, where Kate was finishing her song.

_Oh Susie Q,  
Oh Susie Q,  
Oh Susie Q baby I love you, Susie Q_.***

Kate waved to the crowd as she left the stage, and Quinn cheered.

Mercedes was next to sing, and she got up as Kate came towards them.

"How'd I do?" she asked, smiling.

"Horrible." Cameron replied instantly.

"More terrible than usual" Matt added.

"You were great" Quinn gushed. Kate grinned.

"Thanks. Its a good thing yours is the only opinion I care about or I might be sad." she said, sticking her tongue out at Matt and Cameron, who grinned.

Quinn smiled. A moment later, she looked over and saw someone entering the club, and her heart stopped.

"Sam." Quinn said, staring in disbelief. What the fuck was he doing here?

"Sam...like your ex-boyfriend Sam?" Kate asked, turning around. When she spotted him, her heart stopped too.

"Yeah...what the-" Quinn said, as Kurt Hummel followed her ex into the club.

"Whats he doing with Kurt?" she asked, mostly speaking to herself.

"Oh, nothing I'm sure." Kate said quickly, her heart beating faster. "Hey, uh Quinn, look at me!" she said, waving her hands in front of Quinn's face. She had seen those two here the other night, and they were most certainly together. Quinn was not going to be happy if she figured that out. Kate silently prayed they wouldn't do anything couple-like.

Quinn brushed Kate's hands away from her face, and got up to go over to them. As Kate watched, the blond leaned down and kissed the porcelain looking one firmly on the mouth. Kate smacked herself on the forehead. God hates me, she thought.

Quinn's mouth dropped open in shock, and she stopped walking. Kate rushed up behind her, and turned her away.

"You okay?" she asked tentatively. Quinn closed her mouth, and stared at Kate.

"I-I...what?" she stammered in disbelief, whirling back around. Sam was holding Kurt in his arm, brushing back bits of his hair.

She whipped around to Kate. "You knew?" she asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"No, well...sort of. I mean, I saw them here yesterday." she said timidly. "But I didnt know he was your ex, I swear!" she added.

Quinn nodded, then walked calmy over to where the two boys were standing. As Kate watched, she tapped the blond one on the shoulder, and when he turned around and saw her, Kate saw all the colour drain instantly from his face.

Before the blond had a chance to say anything, Quinn reached back and punched him in the nose. Kate gasped, and ran over.

"_What the fuck Sam_!" she hissed. "Sam" was doubled over, and the cermanic looking boy was holding him in his arms, looking fearfully at Quinn.

"You fucking cheating, lying, asshole…._man_" she spit out, furious. Kate stood routed to the spot, afraid to say anything.

Sam seemed to be trying to defend himself, but his words were marred by his hands which were clutching his bloody nose. _Great arm_...Kate thought to herself, but decided not to say.

"We're sorry Quinn, we didn't mean to hurt you" the other boy was saying.

"Shut up Kurt. I cant believe you cheated on me..and with _another man_!"

Just then, Mercedes appeared behind them.

"What happened?" she said, staring at Sam and Kurt. Kurt quickly dropped his arms from around Sam and tried to look innocent. Kate opened her mouth to tell her, but a terrifying look from Quinn silenced her.

Instead of answering, Quinn made a small shrieking noise and stalked off towards the stage.

Kate glanced apologetically at Sam and Kurt. "Sorry, I tried to help."

"Help what? What happened?" Mercedes asked, incredibly confused.

"Do you think I should try and apologize" Sam asked, looking like he would rather french kiss a bowl of razors. "Should I try and talk to-"

Suddenly, music blasted from the stage, cutting Sam off. Quinn must have Dan turn the volume up, because it wasn't usually so loud.

_Something's on my mind  
it's been for quite some time  
this time I'm on to you  
so where's the other face?  
the face i heard before  
your head trip's boring me_

Quinn stood at the microphone, looking angrier and scarier than Kate thought it was possible for someone so cute to look.

_Lets nuke the bridge we torched two thousand times before  
this time we'll blast it all to hell  
I've had this burning in my guts now for so long  
my belly's aching now to say..._

The music grew even louder as the power of the song increased. Kate watched Quinn in awe.

_You're just...a fuck  
__I can't explain it 'cause i think you suck  
__I'm taking pride  
__in telling you to fuck off and die_

"Sam, what the hell did you do to her!" Mercedes shouted over the music. Sam stared guiltily at his feet.

_I've had this burning in my guts now for so long  
my belly's aching now to say  
I've taken pleasure in the masochistic youth  
so listen up cause you might miss.._

Quinn finished the song, her eyes blazing and her throat sore.

_You're just...a fuck  
__I can't explain it 'cause i think you suck  
__I'm taking pride  
__in telling you to fuck off and die._ ****

Once the music stopped, Kate turned to Sam. "No, I don't think now would be a good time for you to try and apologize." She said.

* * *

*This song is Sam by Olivia Newton-John. Is it perfect or what?

**./tumblr_ldhg9w9BKu1qzlfumo1_ you can really get this on a t-shirt.

***Susie Q by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

****F.O.D (Fuck of and Die) by Greenday.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

When Quinn came down from the stage, Sam and Kurt were gone, thank god.

Mercedes, having been on stage when everything happened, was still utterly confused.

"Seriously, someone needs to tell me what just went down, now." She said, standing with her hands on her hips.

Quinn shot her a dirty look.

"Fine. Don't tell me." She said huffily. "I don't care."

"You okay?" Kate asked, putting her around her. Quinn shrugged it off, ignoring the hurt look on Kate's face when she did.

"I'm fine" she said, sounding far from it. "I just want to go home."

Mercedes pouted. "We just got here!"

Quinn glared at her. "Fine, I'll find my own way home!" she said, storming off.

Mercedes threw her hands up in exasperation. Kate sighed. "I'll take her home."

"You don't have to do that" Mercedes said grumpily "I'll do it..."

"No really, I want to go anyways." Kate lied. She didn't want to leave, but she loved the thought of being Quinn's knight in shining armor. Or whatever the female equivalent of that would be.

"You sure?" Mercedes said. Kate nodded.

"'Kay great. I'll see ya later!" Mercedes said, as Kate walked away. She found Quinn standing outside the club, crying.

"Come on, Quinn. Let's go." She said, putting her arm around her and leading her to her car. This time, Quinn didn't shake her off.

"Quinn..." Kate began as they got in, her heart pounding in her chest. "Do you want to sleep over at my house? You really shouldn't be alone right now."

Quinn looked up at Kate through the tears clinging to her eyelashes. She sniffed. "Okay. Sure."

Kate nodded, and gave Quinn a small smile. "It'll be fun, I have hot chocolate. The good kind, with marshmallows."

Quinn smiled a little back, and wiped her eyes with the back of hand.

Kate turned the car on, and drove out of the parking lot. A few minutes later, she turned to Quinn.

"So...do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Quinn replied immediately.

"So...we're just gonna sit here in silence?"

"No...why don't you tell me about yourself. I don't feel like talking about me right now."

Kate nodded. "Ok...like what?"

"I don't know. Anything. I hardly know anything about you."

Kate thought. "Well, the first time I ever attended a school was highschool. Up until then, I was home schooled."

Quinn sniffed again. She had stopped crying now, but her nose still felt runny. "Yeah? Was it like _Mean Girls_?"

Kate smiled. "Yeah sorta, except for how it wasn't at all like _Mean Girls_."

Quinn rolled her eyes. She was noticing that it seemed impossible for Kate to give a straight answer.

"So when I first went," Kate continued, "the other kids were sort of mean to me. Something about my...I dunno, everything, seemed to bother them. They sort of tormented me." She said, matter-of-fact.

"What'd they do?" Quinn asked.

"Oh, lots of things. For example, our cafeteria sold these really crappy root-beer floats. They used to buy them, then pour them on me. Really stupid stuff like that."

"At my school, they throw slushies." Quinn commented. "I feel your pain."

"What'd you do about it?" Kate asked, turning a corner.

Quinn stared. "What do you mean? I did nothing."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah...why, what'd you do about it?" Quinn asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, it was mostly the baseball team who did that, so one day I snuck into the locker rooms while they were showering, stole their clothes and lit them on fire in the parking lot."

Quinn gaped her at. "You did what? Didn't you get in trouble?"

Kate laughed. "_Of course_ I got in trouble! But my parents didn't care, because they knew I'd been suffering at school, and none of the teachers were doing anything about it."

"So what happened?"

"They said they were going to suspend me, and my parents told them not to bother. Then they took me out of school."

"So your home schooled again?"

Kate shook her head. "I found this private arts school about 20 minutes away to go to. The kids there are also weird, so no one picks on me. I mean, they still think I'm weird, but they don't do anything about it. And I've actually made some good friends."

"Cameron and Matt?" Quinn asked.

"Yeah, they're sort of my soul-mates" Kate said, laughing. "But in a totally platonic way." She added.

Quinn nodded. "That's good."

Kate turned onto a small street.

"Yup it is. Here we are." Kate said, pulling up to the last house on the left. "Home sweet house."

They got out of the car and entered through the garage.

"Forgot my key." Kate explained. Quinn nodded again.

Once they were inside, Kate got them hot chocolate, and they sat down on her couch. The house was moderately sized, and nice, but very oddly decorated. Quinn could see that Kate's parents had a similar taste and style to their daughter.

Suddenly, Kate realized that she had just left Cam and Matt at the club with no explanation. She quickly took out her phone and sent Matt a text:

**Yaoi Blond at club=Quinn's ex. Took her to my house. Details later.**

"What are you doing?" Quinn asked, staring into her mug.

"Sending Matt and Cameron a text letting them know where we went. We just sort of ran off…."

"Oh..." Quinn said quietly.

"So," Kate said, folding her legs on the couch and putting away her phone. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

Quinn took a sip of her hot chocolate (which was indeed the good kind with marshmallows) and grumbled. "Not really…"

Kate waited a moment, as she expected, Quinn continued. "I just feel so...embarrassed. I had _no idea_ he was gay. Not a clue."

Kate put her hand on Quinn's knee, and squeezed it reassuringly. "Don't worry about it; no one expects there boyfriend to be gay. I mean, the fact that he was dating you, a girl, seems to imply straightness."

Quinn nodded. "Yeah but..I was thinking about in the car...and...there were signs. I just didn't see them."

"Like what?"

"Well, this one time we went bowling with Kurt and our other friends...and he was helping Kurt bowl...and I mean, I didn't even think about it at the time...but now...the way he was holding him...it was very..._intimate_."

"And the next week," Quinn went on, "I said 'Hi' to Kurt in the hallways. Thats it. Just 'Hi' and he freaked out, and ran away. And when I asked Sam about it, he did the same thing." Quinn sighed. "I should have known...I mean...what if he was gay the whole time. What if I was nothing more than a beard, our entire relationship?"

"Well, this guy doesn't sound very smooth. I doubt he would have been able to hide something like that for so long."

"But someone doesn't just turn gay all of the sudden!"

"I know, but its more complicated than just turning gay. I mean, people's personalities, their likes are dislikes, they're dynamic. They change, they adapt. Think about it like this. Say all your life you drink white, plain milk. And you like it, it tastes good, its good for you. You really enjoy this milk. But one day, you try chocolate milk and its like 'Damn! Now that's milk!' And suddenly, regular milk just doesn't hold the same appeal. But it doesn't mean you didn't like it in the first place. It just means you should try new things, cuz you might like them." Kate said.

Quinn stared. "Wow...that actually makes a lot of sense..."

Kate grinned. "I know, I'm brilliant."

Quinn smiled back. "Yeah, little bit."

There was a small pause in the conversation, and Kate cleared her throat.

"So," Kate said, abruptly changing the subject. "Tell me about this 'Glee Club' your in? Do you do little dance numbers? Do you wear costumes?"

Quinn laughed. "Yes we do dance numbers, but we only have two really advanced dancers, so they handle the heavy stuff. And I don't know about costumes, but we coordinate our outfits..."

Kate was looking at her with an "awww, how cute!" expression, and Quinn punched her lightly.

"Hey," Kate said, holding her shoulder like she was in pain. "You got a thing for punches, dontcha?"

Quinn blushed. "Yeah...I may have an unchecked violent streak."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "'May'? Did you see that dude bleed? I think you broke his nose."

Quinn frowned, and Kate quickly added "Not really."

Quinn sighed. "We have an assignment for Glee due next week. I need to sing a song different from my 'usual style'."

Kate tilted her head. "What's your usual style?"

"Not like what I sang tonight."

Kate thought. "So sing something like that for the assignment. I have tons of angry music, I'll help you."

They spent the next few hours sorting through piles of CD's, and listening to songs on Kate's iPod. She wasn't kidding when she said she had tons of angry music.

They finally selected a song from a female artist Quinn had never heard of.

"It doesn't have quite the same impact as "Fuck off and Die" does, but in light of your...interaction, with him tonight, I think it works."

Quinn nodded. "Thanks" she said, touching Kate's hand. Kate looked up and stared at her a moment, biting her lip. A second later, she broke the gaze and cleared her throat again.

"Wow, its 1 am already? We should go to bed..." she said, glancing at the clock. Quinn nodded, wondering where the time had gone.

Kate blew up an air mattress and placed it next to her bed. They lay there in the dark, and Quinn sighed. She had something to say to Kate, and she figured if she couldn't say it in the dark, she would never be able to.

"Kate?" Quinn said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"...You're gay, right?" she said softly. Silence greeted her question.

After a moment, she responded. "...Uh, yeah. I am."

Quinn nodded, even though she knew Kate couldn't see her. "Thats okay but...I'm not."

Kate sighed. "I know".


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

When Quinn woke up the next morning, she was alone in the room. She rubbed her eyes, and went over to the bathroom. There was a note from Kate written on the mirror in black dry-erase marker. It read:

**Morning Sleeping-Beauty. I'm downstairs making breakfast.**

**-Kate**

**PS: You snore.**

Quinn smiled and went downstairs, past a hallway full of pictures. She stopped to look at them for a moment. There were a lot of Kate with the people assumed were her parents, and 3 boys as well. One of the them looked incredibly like Kate. He had the same dark, piercing eyes and dark hair. The other two were light haired and looked older.

Quinn continued down the hallway and found Kate in the kitchen, standing by the stove and making pancakes.

"Hey, Good Morning!" She said, smiling as Quinn walked in.

"Good morning to you to," she said. "And I do not snore."

Kate grinned. "Oh, yes you do. Its very dainty, lady-like snoring, but its snoring none the less."

"Well, you talk in your sleep, so we're even."

"Yeah, I know. Matt and Cam think its hilarious." Kate said, turning back to the pancakes. "What did I say?"

"It was very obscured, and most was just mumbling, but I distinctly heard the words blueberries, catapult and submarine. And at one point you very clearly said: 'We need to take the egg yolk to the butcher."

Kate stared at her. "You're kidding."

Quinn shook her head, sitting down at the table. "I'm afraid not."

"Wow...thats weird. I mean, I think I remember having a dream about blueberries...sort of why I woke up with the incredible desire for pancakes this morning, but I have no idea about the other stuff." She said, shaking her head.

"Maybe you were taking the egg yolk and the blueberries to the butcher, in a submarine of course, so he could make the pancakes." Quinn suggested.

"What about the catapult?" Kate asked, smiling.

Quinn thought for a moment. "Maybe the submarine was broken, so you catapulted the egg yolk and blueberries to him..."

"Which is the only natural solution, of course." Kate replied.

"Oh, of course."

"But why is a butcher making pancakes?" Kate asked, setting her own blueberry pancakes on the table.

Quinn considered again. "The answer is obvious; you're insane." She determined.

Kate laughed, and applauded. "Brilliant analysis, you should interpret dreams for a living."

"I have often considered a career in dream analysis" Quinn said, taking a pancake from the plate.

Kate laughed again and sat down across from Quinn.

"You have a lot of family photos." Quinn commented, taking a pancake.

"Yeah, my Mom is big on documenting...everything. You should see her photo albums."

"Thats nice. My family doesn't have very many pictures together, and the ones we do have are all stiff and posed. Who are those guys with you in the pictures?"

"My brothers." Kate said, smiling.

"You have three brothers? Where are they?"

"Well, Joss went to college in Virginia, Zack is running around Europe with his girlfriend and Jed is married and lives about 10 minutes away. They just had a baby so even those he's close I don't see him very often."

"Do you miss them?"

Kate nodded sadly. "Yeah, especially Joss. He's only 3 years older than me, and we were close. I mean, we're still close but I hardly ever see him anymore." She shrugged.

"That sucks."

"Yeah I guess. But before he left he gave me his boots, which are awesome. So you know, bright side."

Quinn laughed. "It explains a lot, actually."

"What does?"

"The fact that you have three older brothers. It explains a lot about your...youness."

"Yeah, my parents always say they never should have let them look after me so much when I was little, cuz they think I inherited their vulgar sense of humor."

"Nah..."

* * *

"So," Kate said after they had finished, and were clearing away the plates. "What are you doing this Friday?"

Quinn shrugged. "Nothing so far, why?"

"Well, you may have noticed a blessed absence of parents" she said, gesturing around her to the empty house. "They went to the Dominican Republic for their anniversary, and I have the house to myself until next Monday. So, I am of course throwing a party."

"Oh, what time?" Quinn asked, beginning to clean a pan.

"Oh, you're not invited, I'm just bragging." Kate teased. Quinn stuck out her tongue.

"It'll probably start at about 6:00, and go until whenever people leave. Here," Kate said, taking the pan from Quinn, "You don't have to do that."

Quinn smiled, and took the pan back. "I know I don't have to, but you cooked for me so its only fair that I clean."

"Okeydoke," Kate said, beginning to load the dishwasher. "I like a woman who knows her place. After your done with the dishes, make sure to get me a sandwich."

Quinn smiled and splashed Kate with dishwasher. "Watch it, I know where you live."

Kate smiled back. "So you'll come?"

Quinn thought for a moment. "Yeah, but I just remembered, I have a football game that day, so I might be a little late."

Kate closed the dishwasher and turned to look at her. "You play football?"

"No, I'm a cheerleader."

Kate stared at her like she had 3 heads.

"A ch-EAR-lee-DER" Quinn said slowly, sounding it out for her. "You know 'Give me a P, give me an E, give me a P. What does that spell?'"

"Kill me now?" Kate said, her eyebrows raised.

"Actually it spells 'pep' but you were close."

"You got like a uniform and stuff?" she asked. Quinn nodded.

"Well, that is something I will have to see one day." Quinn blushed.

"You came come after your game then. And feel free to bring someone. Like, a friend." She added.

"Okeydoke." Quinn said, mimicking Kate.

After they finished with the dishes, they spent the next little while deciding what Quinn would wear for her glee assignment. Kate ended up lending her a torn pair of leather pants, and a very sexy leather top.

"You don't think this goes down too low?" Quinn asked, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Mmmm?"

"My top, you don't think its too low cut?" She asked. When she still did not receive a reply, she snapped her fingers in front of Kate's face. "Kate!"

"Oh, huh?" Kate said, snapping out of it and trying to pretend she had not just been ogling Quinn's cleavage. "Right the top. No...its fine. You look...uh...nice."

Quinn grimaced. "I look like I'm playing dress up in someone else's clothes."

"Well, you sort of are. And, I mean you're just sort of naturally angelic and pure looking so..."

Quinn sighed. "I don't want to look angelic and pure, I want to look tough."

Kate thought for a moment, and smiled. "I can do your make-up for you...ooohhhhh and your hair!" She squealed, clapping her hands together excitedly.

"You know, I never really took you for the make-over type" Quinn said, smiling.

"Why, just cuz I wear men's shoes and stuff, I can't be into girly stuff?" Kate said, taking out a bin full of bottles and tubes.

"I guess you can...its just surprising." Quinn said slowly. Kate motioned for her to sit, and Quinn took a seat on her bed.

"Well, I am a surprising person." Kate said, pulling on rubber gloves. Quinn eyed them suspiciously.

"What is that for?"

"Rectal Examination. What do you think its for! I'm doing your hair." She said, and brought 3 small tubes of brightly colored liquid over.

Quinn bit her lip. "I dunno, I sort of like my hair...this color."

"Don't worry, this stuff washes out after about 3 washes. It's just for your performance. Come on, I'll just do a few streaks of each color, kay?"

"Okay, but if it makes my hair fall out, I'll beat you up." She said, as Kate began applying purple with a tint brush.

"Got it."

* * *

Monday morning, Quinn woke up and jumped when she looked at herself in the mirror. She had forgotten about Kate's dye job. True to her word it was only a few streaks of each colour (blue, green and purple) but it was still shocking. She got ready for school, putting the make-up and clothes Kate had leant her into her back pack.

The beginning of Monday was uneventful and Quinn barely paid attention to any of her classes. Right before lunch she found Mr. Schuester and asked him if she could go today. He said she could go right after Rachel, Puck and Mercedes. She thanked him and went to lunch.

It was only when she got into the cafeteria that she began to notice the odd looks people were giving her.

She sat down with the cheerios, and they turned to stare at her.

"Quinn, is Sam a gigolo?" Brittany asked, her expression blank.

"What?" Quinn asked, thinking about how interesting Brittany's thought process must be.

"Someone beat him up and know one knows who." Santanna supplied. "Brittany thinks it was Sam's pimp."

Quinn's face grew red. "No, it was not Sam's pimp."

Brittany's eyes grew wide. "So he_ is_ a gigolo." She turned to Santana. "You owe me a dollar."

Santana rolled her eyes and reached into her purse, but Quinn stopped her. "No, he is not a gigolo! His pimp didn't beat him up because he doesn't _have_ a pimp. Why would you even think that? No wait. I don't want to know." She said, before Brittany could open her mouth to respond.

"Do you know who it was though?" Someone else asked.

"Was it Puck? Did he beat him up for dating you?" Another girl chimed in.

"I heard he got it trying to kill himself!" A cheerio named Erin supplied, a wise expression on her face.

"How would he do that?" the first girl asked.

"He was trying to hang himself but he tied the rope wrong, so when he stepped off the chair it slipped over his head and got caught on this nose. He hung there for 2 days before someone found him."

"Wow, ohmigod Quinn is that true?"

"No, its not true. Thats ridiculous." Quinn said, standing up. "I'm out of here..."

She turned to leave, but the doors were blocked by Jacob, who was pushing a recorder in her face.

"Quinn, readers want to know: What happened to Sam's face?"

"What readers Jacob? No one reads the school paper. The only time it gets used is when the science teacher uses it to line the cages of the lab rats." She said, trying to push past him. He pushed his glasses back up onto his nose and continued baggering her.

"Was he caught dealing drugs? Did he start a fight club exclusively for fake blonds? Did he get it by using a squeegee to..." he began, but was cut off as Quinn shrieked and pushed him through the doors.

"We'll talk later!" He shouted down the hall after her.

Quinn spent the rest of lunch in the bathroom, exchanging text messages with Kate.

She waited until it was time for Glee to start before getting ready. She knew Rachel would insist on going first, and she really didnt care if she missed her performance.

She changed her clothes and applied her make-up, trying to match what Kate had done the day before. When she was finished, she hardly recognized herself. There was almost no trace of her usually angelic and pure looks left.

She took a picture of herself on her cell phone and sent it to Kate with the caption

**"You've created a monster."**

She got one back a moment later saying "**I'm a genius.**"

She sent one back asking Kate to wish her luck, and then left the washroom. Thankfully there was no one in the hallway and Quinn walked over the choir room. Before she went in, her cell phone buzzed and she read Kate's reply.

**You don't need luck, you've got talent. And a kick-ass outfit.**

Quinn smiled, and walked into the room. As she entered, everyone turned and stared at her, their mouths hanging open.

"Sorry I'm late Mr. Schue." She said, smiling to herself as she took a seat next to Mercedes.

"Uh, that's o-ok Quinn...just take a seat." He said, and she decided not to point out that she already had. She noticed that he seemed to be concentrating very hard on not looking at her, and she tried to suppress a laugh. She had her answer now; the top was definitely too low cut. Oh well, too late now.

"Uh, Mr. Schue, can I go now?" Puck asked.

Schue nodded. "Yes Puck, lets go."

Quinn watched as Puck motioned to Mike to hit play on the CD player, and began to sing "Officer Krupke" with a comical expression on his face.

She laughed as he went through the motions of the song, with Mike and Mr. Schue assisting him by playing the other parts.

Puck jumped and danced around, giving a surprisingly enthusiastic performance. She had known Puck was a good performer, but seeing him so utterly goofy was vaguely astounding.

He finished the song and recieved a standing ovation from the rest of the Glee club. Quinn was extremely impressed. They sat back down, except for Mercedes who was going next.

She stood in front of the microphone and for the first time Quinn noticed what she was wearing. Now it was her turn to stare with her mouth open. Mercedes was wearing a white dress with sweet-heart neckline that went to her mid-thigh. Her boots matched her dress and her hair was soft and slightly pouffed, falling in sleek waves. She looked soft and beautiful.

The music started softly, and Quinn watched, transfixed.

_I was five and he was six_

_We rode on horses made of sticks_

_He wore black and I wore white_

_He would always win the fight_

_Bang bang, he shot me down_

_Bang bang, I hit the ground_

_Bang bang, that awful sound  
_

_Bang bang, my baby shot me down._

Mercedes voice sounded as soft and beautiful as she looked. She kept her eyes down glancing up seductively at the final line of the chorus.

_Now he's gone, I don't know why_

_And till this day, sometimes I cry_

_He didn't even say goodbye_

_He didn't take the time to lie._

_Bang bang, he shot me down_

_Bang bang, I hit the ground_

_Bang bang, that awful sound_

_Bang bang, my baby shot me down..._

The song ended and everyone stared, awestruck. Quin numbly started clapping for her friend, and Mr. Schue did as well. A moment later, everyone began clapping too and few people cheered.

Mr. Schue looked ecstatic, thrilled that at how well his assignment was going.

"Alright, now thats what I'm talking about! Mercedes, that was brilliant." He said, beaming.

Mercedes flashed him a smile. "I know." She said, resuming her seat next to Quinn.

Quinn didnt have any words for how awesome Mercedes as been, so she just hugged her tightly, thinking she'd come up with something to say later. Mercedes hugged her back and smiled.

"Ok, Quinn. You're up." Mr. Schue said, looking at the wall next to Quinn's head. Quinn smirked and made her way to the front of the class. She put in her music, pressed play and stood in front of the microphone.

She glanced around the room, stopping her gaze on Finn, Puck and finally Sam. She thought about how they had each hurt her, and she began to sing.

_I was your girl, gave you my world_

_My everything_

_But you wouldn't see_

_I had your back_

_I backed you up_

_whatever I did_

_was never enough_

She grabbed the microphone and flung her head forwards with the intensity of the song.

_Bet you never thought that I could break you_

_Did you think that i would look the other way_

_Yeah you had it all figured out_

_But tell me who's the one who's crying now_

_The palm of your hand, that was your plan_

_gave me no time but now you want mine_

_It's all about take you took too much_

_Nothing inside I'm all used up_

_All your one night stands ( should've thought about that )_

_Says he's just a friend ( should've thought about that )_

_Are you satisfied now' ( should've thought about that )_

_cause you can't hold me down_

Her heart beat quickly in her chest as her brain realized what she'd just done. She'd changed the words to the song. "Says he's just a friend." It was "she's just a friend". Her flashed her eyes about the room. Sam looked like he'd been punched in the chest. Her heart beat quicker and she noticed that Finn and Mike looked panicked too. She thought Finn might know, he was sort of Kurt's brother after all...but why did Mike look like that?

She shut her thoughts down, focusing on finishing the rest of the song.

_Not now I wanna thank you 'cause now I'm free_

_I can breath again and I'm never going back to you_

_Bet you never thought that I could break you_

_( Bet you never thought that I could break you )_

_Did you think that i would look the other way_

_yeah you had it all figured out_

_But tell me who's the one who's crying now_

She finished the song a bittersweet note. Sam did look like he was going to cry but she wasn't happy about it. She felt nauseous. Mercedes cheered and ran over to her and hugged her, and everyone else stared at Sam.

"I'm so sorry Quinn, I was a terrible friend the other night!" Mercedes said, squeezing her tightly. "You were upset and for a good reason, I just...I don't know. I'm sorry!"

Quinn smiled weakly. She'd completely forgotten about their fight. "It's ok. You were amazing." She said, hugging her friend back. "I could never stay mad at someone so talented." Mercedes laughed, and they walked out of the room together as the bell rang.

"So, you wanna hang out after school today?" Mercedes asked as they walked down the hall.

Just then, Mike brushed past them and Quinn remembered the look on his face when she'd almost outed Sam. She shook her head. "Um, I have to return these clothes to Kate, but maybe later." She said, speeding up her pace. "I'll talk to you later, I gotta go!" She shouted back to Mercedes as she followed Mike down the hallway. She cornered him in front of his locker, and the look on his face confirmed what she had suspected; he knew.

"You know." She said, and his eyes widened.

"I-I don't know what your talking about Quinn. I don't know anything." He said nervously.

"Yes, you do. You _know_. How?"

"I...I uh..." he stammered. She stared at him, and he broke.

"I was hiding in the bathroom a few weeks ago and they came in and were talking...and other things." He said quickly.

"What did they say?" She asked, her anger returning.

"They didn't want to hurt you Quinn!" Mike said desperately. He let out a string of imforation very quickly, telling Quinn everything he remembered about their conversation. "Sam was going to tell you but you freaked Kurt out by being a ninja or something and then he didn't want to tell you about them because he's a coward and it would hurt you more and they really really like each other please don't punch me."

Quinn nodded calmly, trying to take in everything Mike said. "He was going to tell me?" She said slowly, and Mike nodded quickly. "But he was afraid?"

"I think he was afraid to tell anyone."

Quinn blinked, for the first time realized how hard this must have been for Sam. Her stomache dropped out of her body and she felt dizzy.

"Oh my god...I'm a terrible person." She said, running her hands through her hair. Mike looked around nervously.

"Uh, there there." Mike said, making patting motions but still too afraid to actually touch her.

"I need to go..." she said, moving numbly down the hallway. Mike let out a sigh of relief, and sunk back against the lockers.

* * *

Before she even registered what she was going, she was in her car and driving quickly down the highway.

15 minutes later she was knocking on Kate's door.

"Hey!" Kate said cheerfully as she opened the door.

"Kate I need you to be honest with me. Am I terrible person?" Quinn said immediately.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Am I a terrible person?" She repeated.

"Of course not, why would you think that." Kate said, then motioned for her to come inside. "Come off the porch, the neighbors are going to think I'm a biker gang."

Quinn walked inside, and Kate closed the door behind her. "Now, tell me why you think your a terrible person." She sat down on the couch and motioned for Quinn to follow her.

"My ex-boyfriend, Sam. He's gay." She said, taking a seat next to her friend. Kate nodded.

"Yes, I know that."

"No. I mean, _he's gay_." she said again. Kate stared at her, wondering if Quinn had gone insane.

"Do you realize how hard that must be for him?" She continued, her eyes wide and upset. "He was afraid of telling people, afraid of telling me, he was probably scared and confused and feeling awful and I _punched him in the face_!"

Kate continued to stare at her, unsure of what to say. "Yeah...you did."

"Who does that?" Quinn shouted, jumping to her feet. "This entire time I've been thinking about myself and how I felt and I like never even thought about how hard this must have been for him. I told him to fuck off and die and today I practically told everyone he was gay!"

"You _what?_" Kate said, shocked.

"Well, you know the part in the song that goes "Say she's just a friend (should have thought about that)?"

Kate nodded.

"I changed it to 'he's just a friend'. I dont think anyone noticed..." she said, crumpling back onto the couch. Kate looked at her sadly.

"I'm awful. Tell me I'm awful." She sniffed, leaning her head against Kate's shoulder.

"You're not awful." Kate said, patting her on the back.

"I was selfish and angry and bitter and I acted stupidly." She said, her words muffled by Kate's shirt.

"Yes, you were. You were wrong, but that doesn't make you awful, it makes you human."

Quinn looked up at her, her eyes brimming with tears. "How can you not hate me?"

Kate smiled. "Its pretty easy, actually. Look, if you were awful, you wouldn't feel so bad now, right? But you do. You're going to learn from this experience, and grow. And apologize." She added.

Quinn put her head in her hands. "I dont think I can look at him. If I were him, I'd have me murdered."

"Well its a good thing your not him then, isnt it?" She said, brushing the tears off Quinn's face with her thumb. Quinn smiled and looked at her, and Kate's heart skipped a beat.

She felt a lump rise in her throat and made herself look away, reminding herself that Quinn was _not_ gay. In fact, she was here crying about a boy.

"I'll go get some hot chocolate." She said, jumping to her feet.

Quinn sniffed again. "The good kind with the marshmallows?" She asked softly, her eyes wide and innocent. Kate smiled.

"Of course."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Quinn spent the rest of the evening at Kate's house, where they were later joined by her friends Matt and Cameron. Quinn had expected to be annoyed at their presence, but when they got there she found she was actually enjoying hanging out with them.

Her, Cameron and Kate sat on the floor in Kate's living room playing a board game, and Matt was sitting next to then, leaning against the couch and writing something in a notebook.

He had been very quiet since he'd gotten there, something Quinn was unsure was unusual or not, since she didn't know him very well. However, judging by the rate at which Kate and Cameron bantered back and forth, she assumed that someone who was their friend was equally chatty. As Cameron took his turn (Kate staring intently at the die, quietly urging it to roll a one) Quinn turned her attention to Matt.

"What are you writing?" She asked innocently. Before he could respond, Cameron and Kate answered for him.

"Looooove poetry" they said together, snickering. Judging from the blush that came instantly to Matt's face, it was true.

"Yeah?" Quinn asked, smiling. "Whose the lucky guy?"

Matt smiled a little to himself, and fiddled with a tangled piece of blue hair. "A new kid to school...Johnny Dixen." He said quietly.

"Is he cute?" Quinn asked, moving over to sit next to him.

"He's _beautiful._" Matt responded instantly, and with an excited energy Quinn had never seen in him.

"Is he...uh...well...available?" Quinn asked slowly, unsure how to phrase it.

Matt sighed and once again, his friends answered for him.

"We haven't determined that yet, but we're working on it." Cameron said, moving Kate's piece on the board back a few spaces while she had her head turned.

"But they had me give him my best 'Hey, wanna hang out?' and it got no response, so it seems likely." Kate said, turning back and moving her piece back to its original position.

"How would asking him if he wants to 'hang out' determine his sexuality?" Quinn asked.

Kate turned to face her again. "Well, it's more like this." She said, then licked her lips and parted them slightly. She leaned a little forward, at the same time exposing a small bit of cleavage from under her tank top. She sighed lightly, bit her lip and looked Quinn up and down before saying, in a soft, throaty voice; "Hey, wanna hang out?"

Quinn gulped. She could see how that would be hard to pass up. For a guy, she meant. That's definitely what she meant.

"So," Kate said, moving back to her previous non-cleavage exposing position, "That could just mean he's not into me, but since he's a teenage boy ruled by his hormones, if he was into girls at all then the fact that I have breasts would be enough for him."

Cameron nodded his head. "It's true."

Quinn smiled. "So what happens now, Cameron hits on him and gauges the response?"

They turned to stare at her, and Matt and Kate burst out laughing. Cameron looked horrified.

"Can I take that as a 'no'?" Quinn asked, slightly peeved.

Matt and Kate obviously noticed that she was not enjoying being laughed at, and stopped.

"Quinn, if you were a beautiful, tall, smart and perfect boy who could have anyone he wanted, would you even look twice at _Cam?_" Matt asked, stifling his laughter.

Cameron picked up Quinn's game piece and threw it at him, and Matt swatted it out of the way with his pad and tuck his tongue out.

"No," Kate said to Quinn. "What happens now is Matt continues to moon over him for a month or so, writing sexy poetry and sighing a lot, until he can stalk him enough to figure out what he likes, what he's into and what turns him on."

Matt was blushing furiously again. "It's not stalking, its casual observation."

"It's stalking."

"Then what?" Quinn asked.

"Then he converts him." Cameron said, rolling the die again.

Matt leaned over and smacked Cameron with his notebook. "It's not _converting_ him." He hissed, his face an unseen shade of red. "It's just _introducing_ him to a new and different..."

"Flavor of milk?" Kate supplied, and Quinn burst out laughing. Matt and Cameron looked incredibly confused.

"It's a girl thing." Quinn told them between giggles. Kate was holding back her own laughter.

Matt sighed, and resumed his writing.

"Can I hear the poem?" Quinn asked, once her laughter died down. Kate and Cameron had resumed the board game without her.

"Well...OK, but it's not very good. I'm not much of a poet." He cleared his throat and read:

_I've seen you in the halls,  
I've known you in my dreams,  
I've loved you in my heart ,  
I've peaked against your screams,  
_

_We belong together, you and I,  
We belong together then and now,  
We need our hearts to beat as one,  
We need to make our bodies bow._

_Will you see me standing there?  
Will you cradle me against your chest?  
Will you love me, as I do you?  
Will you ravish me with no rest?_

_You do not see me in the halls,  
And you've not known me in your dreams.  
You have not loved me in your heart,  
But one day, we will peak against each others screams_.

"So, you know...it's not done yet. I'm still working on it..." Matt said, clearing his throat.

He looked up, and Quinn, Kate and Cameron we're all staring at him. Quinn had tears in her eyes and Kate's eyes we're wide. Even Cameron looked a little touched.

"What?" Matt said self consciously.

"That was…._beautiful!_" Kate and Quinn exclaimed together, Quinn throwing her arms around Matt, who looked startled.

"Matt you_ have_ to read that to him!" Quinn exclaimed, hugging him tightly.

"No way!" Matt said, squirming out of Quinn's grasp. "Not everyone is open to being introduced to things like this, he could freak out."

"No he won't! Girl or boy, gay or straight, sexy is sexy and _that_ was sexy."

"Really?" Kate said suddenly. "I mean, you really believe that?"

Quinn nodded. "Yes, I do. No one's sexuality is black and white, my gay ex-boyfriend taught me that. Besides, after hearing that poem, _I_ almost want to have sex with you."

Matt looked at her, his eyes wide and appreciative. "Really?"

Quinn nodded, and Matt hugged her. "That's so sweet Quinn, thank you."

"No problem." Quinn said, oblivious to the glares Kate was giving them.

"Hey anyone want some gum?" Cameron said, changing the subject before Kate could get too upset. "It's raspberry flavor."

Matt and Quinn broke apart, and Matt reached over to take a stick.

Quinn shook her head. "No thanks, I'm not a big fan of the taste of raspberries. Weird thing is, I _love_ the smell of them. My mom used to make raspberry pie and it smelled _so_ good, it drove me crazy." She said smiling.

Kate chewed her piece of gum, went over to Quinn and blew on her in a long steady stream. Quinn closed her eyes and breathed in. "Yup, smells amazing." She said, leaning over and pressing her face against Kate's cheek.

Matt and Cameron snickered quietly as Kate mouthed the words "Thank You, God."

* * *

Quinn avoided Sam all day Tuesday, unsure of how to go about apologizing. She felt so awful, she couldn't bear to see him. She assumed he hated her with a fiery passion, and frankly she could not at all blame him. She had acted like a two year old, and every time she thought about it she wanted the earth to swallow her on the spot.

She had seriously considered skipping Glee that day, but habit and Mercedes made her go. She grudlingly slouched into the club, and took a seat in the front next to Mercedes. After a few minutes, the general chatter died down and the room fell silent as everyone waited to see who was performing next.

Apparently it was Sam who was going first, as a moment after the room quieted, he dragged his chair to the front of the room and set up his microphone and guitar.

Quinn felt her stomache do that thing where it felt like it didn't exist anymore, and she wondered if he was going to sing something spiteful and awful to her. While she knew she deserved it, she prayed he didn't.

He cleared his throat and nervously said "Um, I had planned on singing something else, but in light of...Monday, I felt I really needed to get this out, and I thought Bob could say it a lot better than me."

She gulped. He was going to sing something to her. She was pretty sure that if it was mean, she would cry.

He plucked at the guitar, and sang in a throaty voice.

_Go 'way from my window_

_Leave at your own chosen speed_

_I'm not the one you want, babe_

_I'm not the one you need_

_You say you're lookin' for someone_

_Never weak but always strong_

_To protect you an' defend you_

_Whether you are right or wrong_

_Someone to open each and every door_

Quinn felt tears spring into her eyes. The song wasn't mean, it was beautiful. She couldn't understand how he could still be so kind, when she'd been so terrible.

_But it ain't me, babe_

_No, no, no, it ain't me, babe_

_It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe_

_Go lightly from the ledge, babe_

_Go lightly on the ground_

_I'm not the one you want, babe_

_I will only let you down_

_You say you're lookin' for someone_

_Who will promise never to part_

_Someone to close his eyes for you_

_Someone to close his heart_

_Someone who will die for you an' more_

The lyrics pierced her heart with their truth and she wondered how a song she knew must have been around for a long time could feel like it had been written just for her, for this situation. She had known that she wouldn't be able to handle it if he sang something mean to her, but this was much worse. The song was beautiful and sad, but worst of all, it was understanding and forgiving.

Quinn was beginning to feel like this was certainly on the list of things she couldn't take, and as Sam finished the song, Quinn felt tears seep down her cheeks.

_But it ain't me, babe_

_No, no, no, it ain't me, babe_

_It ain't me you're lookin' for, babe_

The moment it ended, Quinn sprang up form her seat and rushed out of the room. She ran down the hallway, and was about to enter the washroom when she heard Sam call her name.

"I'm sorry Quinn, I wasn't trying-" He began, but she cut him off. She couldn't believe he was still trying to apologize, after everything she'd done.

She buried her face in her hands, unable to look at him while she spoke. "No, Sam. _I'm sorry_. I...I can't believe how I've acted lately. I feel awful."

As she sobbed into her hands, she felt him put his arm around her, and cried even harder. How could he be so nice, when she had been so terrible?

"Quinn, I never wanted to hurt you. But, everything that song said is true. I'm not what your looking for right now, and I can't give you what you want."

Quinn nodded, trying to choke back her tears. She knew it was true, and she'd known it for a while. He wasn't what she needed right now, and he'd only been trying to tell her that from the beginning. They weren't right for each other, he'd embraced that and moved onto someone who was right. She'd kicked up a fuss, and refused to see the truth.

"I know, I know...God I just hate myself. This entire time I've been holding you responsible, not just for how you hurt me, but for how _every_ guy has hurt me. That's not fair...I, oh God I'm so sorry."

She pressed her face into his chest, trying to stop her eyes from doing their impression of a waterfall, but tears just kept coming. And then to make everything worse, Sam said the one thing Quinn had dreaded to hear him say.

"Hey, it's ok. I understand. I forgive you."

She closed her eyes again, unable to comprehend what had just happened. He had forgiven her. Why?

She looked at him, full of disbelief.

"How?"

He stared down at her, confused. "How what?"

"_How_ can you forgive me? You were honest with me from the start...well, sort of honest. And I acted like a bitch." She said, drying her eyes on the jacket of her Cheerio's uniform.

"And even what you weren't honest about...I can understand that. I mean, the not being honest about it part..."

She put her head back in her hands. She felt so, so stupid for being angry about his dishonesty, when she knew if it had been her who was gay, she wouldn't have told anyone. Not for a long, long time.

"I didn't want to lie to you, but I just couldn't..tell anyone yet. And, I didn't mean for it to happen...it just did. I'm sorry."

God she wished he would stop apologizing. If he would just stop apologizing, and start yelling at her, maybe she could feel better. Every "I'm sorry" that came out of his mouth was like a dagger in the heart.

"After the way I acted, I think we're off you apologizing to me, and onto me apologizing to you."

She looked back up at him, and cringed. She had really done a number on his face. His eye was puffed and dark, and his nose was black and purple, with veins puffing up around it. He looked awful.

She choked back a final sob. "I'm so sorry about your face. Does Kurt hate me?" She tried to smile at her pathetic attempt at a joke, but it fell flat. Sam however, laughed and pulled her into a hug.

"Not as much as you might think. He says it's ok, because he still has my sexy abs."

Quinn laughed, unable to believe he was speaking so pleasantly to her. How had she hated him? How could she have been so mean?

"You guys...really like each other? I mean, this is a serious thing..." _Crap that sounded terrible, what, do I think he's going through a 'phase?'_

Quinn continued, trying to explain what she had meant. "...I mean..not serious like 'are you serious' but serious like...long term."

Sam seemed to understand what she meant, and he smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it's very serious. I've never...I've never felt this way about anyone."

Quinn nodded. She could tell. He got this little light in his eye when he spoke about Kurt, and his whole face lit up. She was pretty sure that if love had a physical look, that's what it would look like.

Her stomach dropped again as realized what that meant. She had punched him in the face for being in love. She was awful. She was the worst person ever.

"I'm so s-" she tried, but now Sam cut her off.

"Lets just call it even, ok?"

Quinn looked at his puffed-pastry face and sighed inwardly. "I don't think we're even until you've given me a matching black eye..."

"Nah, we're good. OK?"

He reached out his hand to her, and she shook it, smiling. She would find someway to make this up to him. Maybe she could help him come out…

They walked back towards the Glee club, and Quinn paused for moment. "So...when do you think you're going to tell people?"

He was about to go through the door, and he paused too. "Soon." he said. Quinn nodded, shocked. She didn't think she would ever tell anyone when it was her.

If it was her, she meant. That was definitely what she meant.


	8. Chapter 8: Part 1

**A/N: This chapter is done in two parts because I felt like it. The second part will be published soon, probably today or tomorrow. It will be from Kate's perspective. **

* * *

Chapter 8: Part 1

Friday morning, Quinn woke up with a nervous feeling in her stomach. Today was Kate's party. She didn't know why realizing that made her feel so nervous, but it did. Maybe it was because she had asked Mercedes, and she had declined.

She would be going alone.

She sighed and got out of bed. She could already tell today was going to drag by horribly.

She went downstairs, and found her mother talking on the phone and eating yogurt. She smiled and waved to Quinn as she came into the room. Quinn did her best so smile back, knowing her mother was probably talking on the phone to some potential suitor, since she was doing that high pitched giggle voice thing she did when she flirted.

Quinn decided she would get breakfast at school, not wanting to try and eat while listening to her mother coo into the receiver.

She drove to school and got some fruit and granola from the caf, and took out her phone to text Kate. She didn't actually have anything to say, but texting Kate had become a habit now.

She decided to ask her what she should wear to the party.

A moment later, her phone buzzed with a reply.

**Clothes would probably be a good idea, but they're not mandatory :D**

Quinn rolled her eyes and sent a text back.

**A straight answer would be nice 4 once.**

By the time Kate sent her reply, Quinn was finished her breakfast and on her way to first period. She looked at her phone in the hallway, about to enter the classroom.

**Sorry, aint how I roll. I dunno, wear w/e you want. No dress code.**

Quinn quickly texted "**Clown Suit it is**" as a reply and went to class.

* * *

As she had expected, the day dragged by at an awful pace, and Quinn was pretty sure she had aged about 90 years by the time Glee came around.

She slouched into the room, taking her usual seat next to Mercedes. As Mike set up to go first, Quinn noticed that Sam had a funny look on his face, and was staring intently at the ground. She smiled, thinking it probably had something to do with how very nice Kurt looked in his black button down shirt, white bow tie and matching snake skin belt. She also noticed he was wearing looser fitting boot cut jeans, as opposed to his usual skinny jeans. She figured it had something to do with his performance.

Kurt went after Mike, who had sung "I Want to Break Free" by Queen. It had been a great performance, and Quinn was quite impressed with the improvement in his voice since his duet with Tina.

Kurt leaned over and whispered something to Sam, who went from looking panicked to confused in about 0.2 seconds. He watched Kurt intently as he made his way to the front of the room and began his performance. She noticed that he had modified his outfit at some point during Mike's song. He had taken off the bow tie and belt, undone a few buttons and messed up his hair. She figured he was going for a more masculine look, but Quinn didn't really think it worked for him.

However, judging by the look on his face, Sam appeared to share a different opinion. He also had his backpack firmly placed in his lap, and Quinn tried not to think about what that probably meant.

The music started and Quinn didn't recognize the song, but it had a nice upbeat tune and Kurt did a pretty good job singing it, considering how out of his element he seemed.

The moment Kurt finished his song, Sam jumped up and awkwardly announced he didn't feel well and had to go to the bathroom. Then he not too subtly said exactly which bathroom he was going to, for Kurt's benefit, and fled the room. A moment later, Kurt lamely pretended like he was going to check on Sam, and rushed out after him.

Quinn smiled to herself, noticing Mike and Finn sharing a similar expression. They were going to have to be a little less obvious if they didn't want people to start suspecting something. Even Mr. Schue looked a little suspicious.

Sam and Kurt did not return to Glee that period, and they missed excellent performance by Santana, who Quinn grudgingly admitted had been fairly amazing, singing "Trouble" By Cat Stevens. She had sung it beautifully and softly, and if everyone wasn't a little teary eyed from her performance, it wasn't for long.

After Santana, Artie beautifully performed Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" and even Puck looked a little choked up. Quinn hadn't realized what a great voice he had. He was really wasting his talents on that wanna be white gangster routine.

After Artie performed, Mr. Schuester went to the front of the room. His hands were clasped together excitedly and his eyes had that funny "I'm so proud of you all" sparkle in them. Quinn was sure he was about to make a speech.

"Wow." he said looking around at them. "I am so proud of all of you. You have all truly met and exceeded the expectations of this assignment. Each of you has astounded me with the extent of your talents. You all have kept your own unique styles and personalities, but you have proven that you can work and manipulate your talents to accommodate any genre of music. You have all shown me what true performers you are. I'm stunned."

He was smiling so insanely wide, Quinn couldn't help but smile too. He seemed genuinely thrilled with their performances, and his excitement was a little catchy. They really had all done great, hadn't they?

Glee ended with a round of applause for all of them, started by Mr. Schue and enthusiastically picked up by Rachel.

After Glee, Quinn had the football game to cheer at, and she was relieved to find it went quickly. They won the game, and Mike and Sam both scored touch downs.

After the game, Quinn tried one more time to convince Mercedes to come with her, but she insisted she had some family thing to go to.

And so Quinn made her way to Kate's house alone, managing to only get lost once with the directions Kate had given her.

When she pulled onto Kate's small street, even if she hadn't remembered that Kate lived in the last house on the left, she would have no trouble figuring out which one was hers. All the lights were on, and she could hear music coming from inside.

She made her way to the front door, where a sign read "Come on in, unless you're creepy and/or drunk!"

Quinn opened the door and stood in Kate's foyer. Her house looked different with so many people in it, and she was a little unsure what to do. As she stood there, she listened to the music playing and realized it was being sung live.

The voice singing was deep and male, but it had a silky quality to it, and Quinn followed the sound through the house.

_We both want to work so hard,_

_We can't get the chance,_

_(Dead end!)_

_People live on dead end street._

_(Dead end!)_

_People are dying on dead end street._

_(Dead end!)_

_Gonna die on dead end street.*_

She followed the song into the living room, where she was surprised to find Cameron playing guitar and singing into the microphone. Standing next to him was Matt, playing what she was pretty sure was a bass, and providing back-up vocals. Behind them, Kate banged away happily on the drums, an enormous smile on her face.

Quinn smiled as she watched them, extremely impressed with their sound. The song wrapped up and everyone applauded, Quinn included.

Kate looked around the room, and spotting Quinn, rushed over to her.

As she made her way across the room, Quinn noticed that Kate looked...different. She was wearing a long and flowy red dress that looked a little amazing on her, and her hair was pined back in a sleek half pony tail.

Quinn couldn't believe she'd never noticed how beautiful Kate was before. Kate came up to her and hugged her tightly, and Quinn suddenly felt very nervous. She wondered why Kate's hugs always raised butterflies in her stomach.

"Hey" Quinn said, trying not to appear too excited to see her. "I didn't know you guys were in a band."

"What, that?" Kate said, waving her hand through the air like she was brushing away the idea. "We're not, at least not in any official capacity. Music is just something we do for fun. Me and Cam are only really interested in our comics, and Matt's been chiseling out his tortured artist persona for a while now."

"Yeah I can see that..." Quinn said, watching Matt brood in the corner. "But you and Cam make comics? I didn't know that?"

"You didn't?" Kate asked, tilting her head to the side. "I can't believe I never mentioned our comics before...it's usually all we talk about. I'll have to show you them sometime...they're pretty good, if I do say so myself."

Quinn smiled. "I'd like to see them."

Kate smiled, and then suddenly looked excited as she seemed to remember something. She grabbed Quinn's arm. "I forgot to tell you, in class today our teacher gave us the opportunity to share anything we'd been working on with the class like drawings, paintings...poems. Guess what poem Matt read?"

Quinn gasped. "No! Really?"

Kate nodded excitedly. "And guess who was totally transfixed on him while he was reading it."

Quinn squealed excitedly. "Oh my gosh,_ really?_"

Kate nodded again. "I invited him to the party, Matt is secretly incredibly excited and he bribed me with a carmel Kit-Kat bar not to sing 'Johnny Are you Queer?', and I am totally willing to share."

Quinn laughed and raised her eyebrows. "'Johnny Are you Queer?' That something you wrote to bug him?"

Kate's eyes went wide. "No, its' a real song! You never heard it?"

Quinn shook her head.

Kate shook her head in disbelief. "It's a great song….you sure you never heard it? _Johnny what's the deal boy/ Is your love for real boy/ when the lights are low/You never hold me close_." Kate sang, and then looked at Quinn. Quinn shook her head.

"It's not ringing a bell."

"Really...it was a very popular song at some point...and so catchy." Kate said, continuing to sing.

_Now I saw you today boy_

_Walking with them gay boys_

_Now you hurt me so, now I gotta know_

_Johnny are you queer?_

_'Cause when I see you dancing with your friends_

_I can't help wondering where I stand..._

"Excuse me?" A deep voice behind them said.

Quinn and Kate turned around and Kate went pale. Matt was standing there with a tall dark haired boy that Quinn assumed was the fabled "Johnny."

"Oh, my god...no, I didn't meant that!" Kate said quickly. Matt was shooting daggers from his eyes, and Johnny looked very confused and a little upset.

"I mean, it's a song. By Josie Cotton. I swear!" Kate continued, babbling spastically. Johnny didn't seem to believe her.

Matt shook his head, and led Johnny away by the hand. Kate sighed and slumped forward.

"I'm totally gonna have to give the Kit-Kat back now..." Kate mumbled sadly, and Quinn patted her on the back.

Quinn nodded. "Probably."

"Feh." Kate said, pouting and crossing her arms. "I dunno what Matt sees in that guy anyways...he's too...tall..."

Quinn raised her eyebrows at Kate. "Were we looking at the same guy? Because the one I saw was beautiful. He looked like a skinny, teenaged version of Brandon Routh."

Kate grumbled and looked sulkily at the floor. "Well you'll have to fight Matt for him then..."

Quinn snorted. "Yeah right. I mean sure I can see he's _pretty_ but I am so not interested. I think I need to be alone right now."

Kate looked up at Quinn and bit her lip. "Well maybe you don't need to be alone...maybe you just need to be someone whose...not...a guy...maybe..." She trailed off, and Quinn sighed.

Just then Cameron came up behind them, stopping Quinn from responding. She would need to talk to Kate later though. She knew Kate liked her, and Quinn had tried to tell her before, but she wasn't moving on. Quinn knew she thought Kate was funny and cool and talented, and she was obviously very pretty...but that wasn't the point. The point was, Quinn Fabray was not gay, and Kate needed to understand that. She would try and let her down easy.

She turned her attention back to Cameron, who was speaking to Kate with an extremely amused expression.

"Was that Matt and Johnny?" He asked, trying to hide his wide grin. Kate nodded sadly.

"And did I just hear you singing 'Johnny Are you Queer?' a few moments ago?"

Kate nodded again.

Matt laughed and held his sides. "You are totally going to have to give that Kit-Kat bar back."

She nodded one more time. "Yeah, I know."

Quinn laughed, and out of the corner of her eye saw Matt and Johnny disappear upstairs. She guessed Johnny was queer after all.

* * *

About 20 minutes later, Kate invited her up to her room to look at her comic books. Quinn nodded, thinking this would be a good time to have that talk.

They made their way up to upstairs and opened the door the Kate's bedroom, only to find a shirtless Matt lying underneath an equally shirtless Johnny. Quinn couldn't really see what was happening, but she was pretty sure they weren't wrestling.

When Matt saw Kate he groaned and smacked his forehead. The two than began an odd barely verbal exchange that involved Kate raising her arms at Matt and making an "UH!" sound, and Matt whining back at her. He gestured to Johnny and made his eyes wide, and Quinn was sure she saw Kate jerk her thumb back to point at her, making a similar whining noise.

Apparently this resolved something, as Matt mumbled "Fine," and dragged a confused Johnny of the room. As they passed Quinn and Kate in the doorway, Matt shot Kate a dirty look and said "But I'm going to Joss' room."

Kate rolled her eyes, making her way into her room. "Just make the bed when your done." She called after them.

Quinn entered the room too, quietly closing the door behind her. She decided she didn't want to know what had just happened.

Kate went over to her desk and took out a stack of papers. "We've made two comic series, with 12 issues each so far, and we're working on a new one now." She said, handing her what looked like a rough draft of the cover page.

It showed a cheerful looking blond woman stabbing a pink sword into what looked like a giant cat. The title read "Moderna VS Something" in big bright block letters.

"Obviously its still a work in progress...we can't decide who the villain in, Cam just drew in that weird looking fury monster so we could figure out the layout. And I can't get her face right." She said, staring intently at the page.

Quinn looked at the woman's face. It seemed fine to her. She didn't know which parts were drawn by who, but they were both obviously very good artists.

"I don't see a problem with her face."

Kate sighed. "She looks like a Barbie Doll...it's not what I was going for. I need her to look beautiful and feminine, but strong too. Like, she won't take any crap and will kick the shit out of you if she needs to. Mostly it's in the eyes...I just can't get them right..."

Quinn sat down on the bed.

"What do you think?" Kate asked, sitting next to her.

"You're a really good artist Kate. You're right about her face though, she looks sort...Stepford."

Kate sighed. "I know."

Quinn bit her lip. "Kate I need to talk to you about something." She said abruptly.

Kate's body went rigid. "...Yeah? About what?"

"Well, it's sort of about what you said earlier...about being with someone other than a guy."

"What about that?" She asked stiffly.

"Well I'm flattered that you like me and all...but, well..."

"But what? But you're not gay?" She asked, staring intently at Quinn.

Quinn fiddled uncomfortably with the hem of her skirt. "Well, yeah…."

Kate snorted. "So what?"

Quinn stared at her. "Um well..."

"What happened to 'no one's sexuality is black and white'?" Kate said, cutting Quinn off. "Maybe you should...you know...give me a chance." She said softly, placing her hand on Quinn's knee.

Quinn didn't make her remove it.

"I, well...Kate I'm not...well..." Quinn stuttered, trying to remember her point.

"Listen, Quinn, I like you. A lot. I've never tried to hide that from you. And maybe I should have, but...I couldn't." Kate said, gently massaging Quinn's knee with her thumb. "And I'd like for you to give me a chance to prove how good I could be for you. How good we could be together."

Quinn bit her lip, trying to ignore the soft rubbing motions of Kate's hand.

"Just think about it. We know we have chemistry, as friends as least. We get a long, I know you like spending time with me...and being a girl has its advantages. I can understand you more than a guy ever could, and I know what feels good and what doesn't…" She said, leaning closer and and moving her hand just an inch up her thigh. "I'll never criticize you for being too emotional, or suggest you're only getting upset about something because you're on your period. I'll never hurt you or let you down. Not because I'm a girl, because I care about you a crazy amount."

Quinn bit down on her lip harder and stared at Kate.

"And finally" Kate said, an inch away from Quinn's face. "I can never get you pregnant."

She took her hand (not the one on Quinn's thigh, that one continued its slow, rhythmic massaging) and held Quinn's face, tilting her chin forward and gently placing her lips on Quinn's, for just a moment. She took her lips away and looked her in the eye.

"Despite all those things, if you can look me in the eye and tell me you have never felt even a little attracted to me, I will stop. I will cut my losses and focus on the incredibly painful task of getting over you. Can you do that, Quinn? Can you tell me that?"

Quinn looked at her, and knew she couldn't. A familiar feeling between her legs was telling her that if she did say it, it would be a lie.

She knew she had feelings for Kate, and had had more than one more-than-friends thought about her, but she had ignored it because she "wasn't gay."

But a thought occurred to her now, one that frightened and excited her at the same time.

She could be. She could be with Kate.

She looked at her friend, looked at her lips and her eyes. She was beautiful and she made Quinn feel safe, and good. She wasn't the head cheerleader to Kate, she wasn't the girl that got pregnant, she wasn't a rich prude. She was just Quinn to her, and when she was with Kate, thats all she had to be.

Quinn leaned forward and kissed her back.

* * *

***Dead End street by the Kinks. I imagine Cameron sounds exactly like the person singing the song. **

**Also "Johnny Are you Queer" is a great song by Josie Cotton, and you should listen to it if you haven't heard it. I have been dying to include it one of my fanfictions in some way. I had actually originally had planned for Quinn to sing that to Sam for her Glee Assignment, but I thought that would be too mean. And it's not very far from Quinn's usual style. **

**I didn't even realize at first that I had named a potentially gay character Johnny until after I had written it, and that it was the perfect opportunity to include that song. **


	9. Chapter 8: Part 2

**Warning: This part of the chapter is going to get smutty. If you are uncomfortable with the idea of two girls together...why are you reading this story?**

**This chapter is also from Kate's perspective. **

* * *

Chapter 8: Part 2

Kate couldn't believe what was happening. Nothing felt real, and she was sure she was dreaming. She reached down and pinched her arm, hard.

It hurt like a bitch. She wasn't dreaming, this was real.

Quinn Fabray was on her bed, and they were kissing. I repeat: QUINN FABRAY WAS IN HER BED AND THEY WERE _KISSING!_

Her mind screamed happily at her, shooting off mental fireworks and doing the Macarena. She couldn't believe how well this was going. She had been sure she was screwed when she'd thrown the whole "If you can tell me you've never been attracted to me I'll move on" thing out there. That had been risky, since she hadn't been totally sure Quinn wouldn't say no.

But here she was, brushing her lips against the most beautiful and perfect girl she'd ever known. She fought the desire to pinch herself again.

Without thinking, she moved her hand to the buttons on Quinn's shirt and began to undo it. Quinn squirmed a little.

"Stop..." She said quietly, not breaking their kiss.

Kate stopped. "Sorry," She mumbled. "We don't need to do anything like that. I got carried away..."

Quinn shook her head, taking her mouth off Kate's. "No, it's not that. I want to, Kate…." She said coyly, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. Kate was pretty sure she was about to faint.

"But I want to take off my own clothes." She said firmly. "And you need to know something. I need to tell you something. It's not something I'm proud of and it's hard to talk about it, but I need to get it out there before we go any further. Actually, going any further will directly depend on your response to what I tell you. Ok?"

Kate nodded, and Quinn got off the bed, and stood in front of her.

"A year ago, I was a bad person. I was mean to the kids at school, and I was manipulative and...lets just say bad. I told you about when I was with Finn, and I told you about being with Puck and about getting pregnant. What I didn't tell you was when I was with Puck, and he got me pregnant, I was _still_ with Finn. And I lied to him about it, and manipulated his trust and naiveté. For months. Pretty awful, right?" She said, biting her lip and looking sad.

Kate nodded, shocked. "Yeah, thats pretty awful."

"Do you still want to be with me?"

Kate nodded again. "Yes, a lot."

Quinn tilted her head. "You don't care that I was the world's biggest bitch?"

Kate twitched her nose, thinking about how to phrase what she felt. "Well, I care. But I can't feel angry about it or anything because...everything that happened, every bad thing you did...it changed you, and shaped you into the _good _person you are now. The good person you are now, here, with me."

Quinn smiled and began unbuttoning her shirt. "The reason I wanted to undress myself is, in every relationship I've had with a guy, it was always them undressing me..."

Kate raised her eyebrows.

"Ok,_ technically_ it was only Puck whoever actually undressed me, but even with Sam and Finn, that always felt like the ultimate goal. You know, undress the girl, grab her boobs, pass Go and collect 200 dollars. And this relationship is going to be different, ok?"

Kate nodded, barely able to comprehend everything after the word "relationship." It suddenly seemed like the most beautiful word in the word. Relationship. Relationship. _Relationship_.

She wanted to sing it out loud and shout it from the rooftop. But that would probably seem a little desperate...so she stayed put.

As she made her way back to reality, she suddenly realized Quinn had finished unbuttoning her top. She sucked her breath in.

"Um, should I turn off the lights or something?" She asked, thinking that was probably proper etiquette.

Quinn shook her head. "No, I want you to see me." And with that, she took off her top and skirt and let them both fall the floor. Kate was pretty sure she actually did pass out, for at least a millisecond.

Quinn was beautiful. She was perfect. She was a goddess. Kate was pretty sure she was _literally_ a goddess, or at least related to a goddess. She was so amazing, Kate wished she had a larger vocabulary so she could think of more synonyms to describe her amazingness with.

"Well?" Quinn asked, standing uncomfortably with her hands on her (perfect) hips.

Kate tried to respond, to let her know how magnificent she was, but she was pretty sure that what came out of her mouth wasn't english. In fact, she was pretty sure it sounded like "Ohooahsosososahhhh purdy." Real smooth.

"No one's ever seen me like this..." She said quietly, covering her stomach with her arms. It was then Kate realized what she was trying to show her. Her stretch marks. Kate hadn't noticed them at first, but they were there and Quinn was obviously very aware of them.

Kate stood up, and placed a hand on her stomach. Quinn shivered, uncomfortable with having someone touch her there.

Kate wrapped her arms around Quinn and kissed her with more force than she'd used before. She held Quinn tightly, even after she had taken her mouth away. She looked into her beautiful eyes and brushed a piece of blond hair out of her face.

"You're beautiful Quinn." She said, reaching behind her and undoing the clasp of her bra. It fell away, and Kate stroked Quinn's breast softly. They had stretch marks on them too, but Kate barely noticed or cared. In her mind, she had never seen a more perfect pair.

She lay Quinn down on her bed and kissed her, softly at first and then with increasing force. She entwined her tongue with Quinn's, and lightly ran her hand over Quinn's torso and breasts. Quinn moaned beneath her, reaching her hand up to stroke Kate's hair. She put her other hand behind Kate's back and unzipped her soft red dress. Kate went to go remove the dress fully, but Quinn stopped her.

"I want to take it off you. " She whispered into her ear. Kate blushed, and they sat up together.

"I don't think I told you how beautiful you look in that dress, by the way. Or how beautiful you are in general."Q uinn said, andkissed Kate down the length of her body, removing the dress as she went.

"Thanks, Kurt picked it out for me..." She said dreamily. Quinn lifted her head up and stared at her, her eyebrows raised.

"Since when are you friends with Kurt?" Quinn asked.

She blushed. "Well, I ran into him at the mall...he helped me shop..." She muttered, embarrassed. "He also made me buy this..." She said, gesturing to her underwear. Kate was wearing a pair lacy black underwear and a beautiful matching corset. She felt a little awkward in it, but judging by the look on Quinn's face when she saw them, she approved. Kate made a mental note to have Kurt crowned King of the Universe.

Kate laid Quinn back down on the bed, and moved her mouth down to her chest. She ran her tongue over Quinn's nipple, gently tracing the contours of Quinn's breast with her finger. Quinn gasped for air and gripped Kate's hair. Kate was very thankful she had picked today to be the first time she had ever used conditioner (more kudos to Kurt for the suggestion).

Kate delicately kissed her way down down Quinn's pale torso, pausing to gently prod Quinn's belly button with her tongue. Quinn moaned her name, and Kate was sure she'd never heard a more beautiful sound.

She continued her way down Quinn's body, grazing the front of her underwear with her lips, relishing the sound of Quinn's whimper as she continued down to her thighs. She lifted Quinn's legs up around her and kissed the inside of her thighs, sucking tenderly and moving closer and closer back up to the area between her legs.

Kate slowly removed Quinn's underwear, keeping her lips soft and sensuous against her skin. As Kate moved into her, Quinn inhaled sharply and tightened her grip on Kate's dark hair.

Kate restrained herself at first, trying to be as gentle as possible. But the more she touched Quinn, the more she felt her and tasted her, the harder it became. Eventually Kate's lust got the better of her, though Quinn didn't seem to mind, as she clamped her thighs around Kate's ears and moaned against her.

As she climaxed, Quinn let out a carnal moan that was on its way to becoming a scream, and let her legs collapse onto Kate's back. Kate smiled, and kissed Quinn softly on her stomach and chest a few time before bring their mouths together again. She searched Quinn's eyes, afraid she would find some trace of disgust or displeasure in them. Instead, Quinn moved into Kate's arms and sighed against her chest.

In a tired, breathless voice she mumbled "That was. The best thing. _Ever._" Before falling softly asleep against her.

* * *

**A/N: Writing these stories has led to a few interesting entries in the thesaurus, on my part. I have recently had to look up synonyms for orgasm, suck, lick, sensual, passionately, butt (For my other story) and breast. Just for the record, there are very few good synonyms for the word breast. I got mammary glands, mammilla, nipple, teat and udder as results. What the fuck?**

**Also, I'm pretty sure my face was bright red when I wrote those last few paragraphs. I tried to keep it as tasteful and non-porny as possible but I'm not sure it worked. **


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The next morning, Quinn Fabray woke up in a bed that wasn't hers. She panicked for a minute, but then felt Kate's arms around her and she calmed down, remembering.

She smiled and snuggled further in Kate's embrace. Last night had been unexpected, but truthfully it wasn't surprising. Kate had always felt different from her other female friends, different in a way Quinn had been unable to explain. But she knew why now, and she knew why Kate's hugs always raised butterflies in her stomach, and why she was always so nervous before seeing her.

Quinn felt Kate stir around her, and she ran her hand along Kate's arm to let her know she was awake too. Kate smiled.

"Morning beautiful." She said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Morning." Quinn said, kissing Kate on the nose.

Kate stroked Quinn's hair, keeping her arms snuggly around her. "So..last night was..."

"Unexpected?"

"Well, I was going to go with amazing, but sure, unexpected works too."

Quinn blushed. "I didn't mean it wasn't amazing. It was just amazing in an unexpected way."

Kate sighed. "Yeah, it was definitely unexpected...do you...I mean was it too...fast?'" She asked, biting her lip.

Quinn looked at her, trying to figure out if Kate was asking if _she_ thought it was too fast, or if she was_ telling_ her it had been too fast.

She decided to ask. "Too fast for you?"

Kate twitched her nose in that funny way of hers. Quinn was going to have to ask her what was up with that at some point. "Well, yes and no. No because it was amazing and I wouldn't change it for a million dollars, but yes too. Because, well you're kind of incredibly special Quinn and I want to do things right with you. I don't want to rush you and...I don't want you to feel like I'm taking advantage of you or something…." Kate said, mumbling the last bit.

Quinn snorted. "Kate, if I hadn't wanted last night happen, it wouldn't have happened."

"Still, if we're going to do this, we're going to do it properly...and so maybe we should take things a bit slower from now on."

Quinn nodded. "That's probably a good idea. But just so you know, this isn't something I do. Hooking up with people at parties or what not..I mean usually I'm the queen of 'let's take things slow'. I don't want you to get the wrong idea..." she said, chewing her lip. Kate probably thought she was a slut. Dammit, what had come over her last night?

Much to her relief, Kate nodded. "Yeah, I understand. This isn't really something I do, either. Ever." She paused quietly. "I've never, you know...had someone in my bed like this before..."

Quinn sat up, surprised. "Really, you mean you were a virgin? Or, are a virgin? I don't know...did that count as sex?"

Kate smiled, sitting up as well. "I don't really know what counts as sex...I think maybe it was. And as far as my virginity goes..." She said, trailing off. She got very quiet again, and wrapped her arms around herself. "No, I'm not a virgin. I did it once, at a party thrown by some kids at my old school..."

She spoke so quietly, Quinn could barely hear her, and she moved closer, and put her arm around Kate. "It's ok," She said softly. "You can tell me. I won't judge you." She offered a small smile.

Kate gave a half-smile back and continued. "Well, I don't really know how but the other kids had figured out I was gay pretty quick and they sort of tormented me for it. I don't even know why I went to that stupid party, I guess to show I wasn't afraid or something. Fucking stupid...anyways one of the older guys came up to me and was doing the whole 'So I hear you're a dyke' thing, and I was just fed up with it I guess so I told him I wasn't. And he told me to prove it...and started...doing, stuff...and I didn't stop him. I guess I wanted to prove it...I just..I didn't want to be different, or weird anymore..." Kate said, burying her face in her hands and sobbing.

Quinn hugged her tightly, shocked at seeing her like this. Kate always seemed so strong. "Hey, it's ok. Don't feel bad, remember, you're talking to the Queen of Doing-stupid-things-to-fit-in."

Kate dried her tears on her hand and looked at Quinn, her eyes shining with tears. "The only people that know about that are Matt and Cam. I never told anyone else."

Quinn smiled, and kissed her lightly. Kate sniffed, and kissed her back. "After that, the torment got worse. Well, not worse exactly, just more frequent. And I snapped, and burnt their clothes...you know the rest. When my parents transferred me, I decided I would never try and change myself for someone else. Something I was able to stick to, until this week when I went shopping for new clothes to impress you." She said with a small smile.

Quinn wiped the rest of the tears off Kate's face with her thumb, and smiled at her. "I like the way you dress just fine. And no matter how great you looked in that red dress, I would never want you to be any different than who you are, right now. Got it?"

Kate nodded, and kissed Quinn on the cheek. "Thanks. Sorry for melting down on you."

Quinn waved her hand. "Don't worry about it. I've certainly melted down on you enough times...besides, what are girlfriends for?"

If Kate ever had to pick a moment in her life when she had been the happiest, that moment would stand out in her mind for years to come.

* * *

After they had gotten dressed, they made their way downstairs where they found Cameron asleep on the couch. Matt and Johnny were still there as well, and were currently drawing a mustache and monocle on Cameron's face with a black marker.

When Kate saw them, she rolled her eyes and went over to snatch away the marker. She smacked Matt on the back of the head.

"Ow!" Matt said, rubbing the back of his head. Johnny snickered and tried to look innocent.

"It's washable." He explained.

Kate rolled her eyes again and walked away. "Whatever Superman*." She said, making her way to the kitchen. Johnny stared after her, confused. Quinn giggled, noticing that she only ever saw him with an incredibly confused look on his face. She followed Kate into the kitchen.

A moment later, they heard a anguished cry from the other room, and then the sound of running water. It would appear Cameron had woken up and looked in a mirror.

Quinn and Kate looked at each other and burst out laughing. Quinn felt bad but...it was pretty funny.

"I'm going to make pancakes..." Kate said, wiping her eyes. Quinn nodded, still laughing. She stopped a moment later when a disgruntled looking Cameron appeared in the kitchen, and sat down grumpily at the table.

He had tried to scrub the marker off his face as much as possible, and while it was certainly lighter than it had been before, it was still visible. As well, his face was now bright red where he had scrubbed it.

"Good Morning Cameron." Quinn said evenly. He glared at her, and dropped his head down onto the table.

Kate came over and placed her arm around him. "Aw Cam its not so bad. I'm sure it will have washed off by tomorrow."

"Feh." Cameron said, not lifting his head up. "I look like the monopoly man."

Upon hearing that, Quinn couldn't help bursting into another fit of laughter.

Kate placed a kissed on Cameron's shaggy brown hair and went back over the counter. Her cell phone lay there and when she glanced at the screen she was surprised to find she had a text message. This struck her as very odd, because everyone who normally sent her text messages was currently in her house.

She checked it, and had no idea who it was from. Whoever it was, she had programed them into her phone as "Master". The text message was equally confusing.

**BLOWJOBBLOWJOB I GOT A BLOWJOB! :D :D :D :D :D EEEEK!**

She glanced at Matt, wondering if he'd sent it...but that wasn't the type of thing he would do, and besides, he was programmed in her phone as "Tortured Mop."

She sent a reply saying she was very pleased for them, but didn't know who they were. She put her phone down and began to prepare the pancakes. About 20 minutes later her phone beeped with a reply. Quinn looked over from her seat at the table.

"You get a text?" She asked curiously. Kate nodded. "From who?"

Kate shrugged. "We're about to find out."

**Kurt! Sorry about that text, btw. I sent it last night, I was so happy I had to tell someone. You're the only one who knows about Sam and I who I didn't feel awkward telling about...well, you know ;D**

"It's from Kurt." Kate said, smiling as she remembered why he was programmed as "Master." When they had shopped he had informed her that he was the master and she was just the lowly student, and would do as she was told. She quickly reprogrammed her phone. Kurt was now in her phonebook as "King of the Universe."

"Yeah? What's he saying?" Quinn asked.

"His relationship with Sam is going very well." Kate said cryptically.

Quinn smiled. "That's good."

"Whose Kurt?" Cameron said suddenly, picking his head up off the table.

"Quinn's ex-boyfriend's boyfriend."

"And you have a relationship with him how and why?" Cameron asked quickly.

Kate shrugged. "I ran into him at the mall and he helped me shop."

Cameron stared at her like she had three heads. "MATT!"

Matt came into the room with Johnny in tow. They were both giggling.

"It's washable marker Cammy, don't worry." Matt snickered.

"It's not that. Its Kate. She's going shopping with boys named Kurt and they're exchanging secret text messages." He said, acting as though Kate wasn't in the room. Kate rolled her eyes.

Matt turned to her. "Is this true, Kaitlyn?"

"You're name's short for Kaitlyn?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah, but only my grandmother calls me that. And yes Matthew, it's true."

Matt shook his head. "I am very disappointed in you."

"We both are." Cameron piped in.

Kate sighed exasperatedly. "You two are such drama queens. I made one new friend, and went shopping once."

"We could help you shop!" Cam said, pouting.

Matt punched him in the arm. "Shut up, don't say that. She might actually make us shop with her!"

"Right, good point. Nevermind. But you should have told us about..._Kurt_."

Quinn was having a hard time not laughing as she listened to their exchange. Kate just looked annoyed.

"I'm sorry, I forgot. Listen, if I ever see him again, I promise to invite you two, 'kay?"

Matt and Cameron considered for a minute, then bobbed their heads.

"Good." Kate said, turning back to her pancakes.

Before she knew what was happening, Cameron and Matt had rushed over to her and were hugging her so tightly she couldn't breathe. Quinn and Johnny laughed as Kate struggled to break free.

"Get...off...kill you...dead" Kate gasped, trying (and failing) to squirm out of their grasp.

"I hate you both so much..." Kate whispered once they finally let go. "So, so much..."

* * *

For some reason, when Monday rolled around, Quinn expected school be different. When she arrived, however, she found that everything was the same.

She moved through the same hallways, passed the same kids and got her books from the same locker. Everything was the same, and she realized that the reason it felt so strange was because _she_ had changed. _She_ was different, and had expected everything to be different with her.

She held her head high as she walked through the hallways, feeling changed; superior and confident. She almost felt like her old self (but without the desire to tear everyone to pieces).

She paid attention in her classes, and took notes. She smiled at people in the hallways, and even stopped to talk to Rachel when she ran into her in the girls bathroom.

"It's not that you have a bad voice Quinn, it's really very nice, but it just doesn't compare with the strength and power of mine. That song you sang for the Glee assignment was ok, albeit a little bitter, but you just didn't have the power to pull it off..."

Ok, that had been a bad idea. But whatever, it was only Rachel.

In spite of her less than pleasant conversation with the brunette dwarf, she felt lighter than she had a in a long time, and more hopeful for the promise of the future than she ever had. She kept expecting someone to notice, for something to happen to let her know "Yes, everything is different now." Although nothing did, she didn't let it bother her. She was different, she was new.

By the time Glee rolled around, Quinn had accepted that nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary was going to happen today. So of course, that was when it did.

The instant she walked into Glee, she knew something was up. Sam was standing in the front of the room, looking very, very nervous.

He teetered back and forth on the balls of his feet, and as Quinn took a seat next to Mercedes, she looked over and saw Kurt was looking equally nervous and chewing on his nails.

Quinn sucked her breath in. _No...he's not going to…_

Mr. Schuester went to the front of the room.

"Alright everyone, before we start things off today, Sam has something to say."

Quinn gulped. _He was._

Mr. Schuester sat next to Kurt, and everyone stared at Sam with rapt attention.

Sam looked like he was going to vomit. He took his time getting to what he wanted to say, breathing deeply and clearing his throat to stall for time.

Finally, he spoke.

"So, um, like Schue said, I have something to say and...well, this being Glee and all, I thought I'd sing it because...why not." He said, cracking a smile. He put a CD in and went back to the mic.

The moment the song started, a gasp from across the room told Quinn that Rachel understood immediately what Sam was saying.

Quinn smiled as Sam sung; she couldn't help it. He had grown so much as a performer since he'd joined the club. He seemed confident and charismatic, as though this was all incredibly easy for him, when Quinn knew it couldn't have been.

He smiled as he sung, and Quinn looked over at Kurt. Sure enough, they were smiling at each other, Kurt's eyes filled with an incredibly proud look.

She couldn't decide if she thought Sam was being brave or crazy, but as she watched him and listened to the lyrics….

_There's a new me coming out_

_And I just had to live_

_And I wanna give_

_I'm completely positive_

_I think this time around_

_I am gonna do it_

_Like you never do it_

_Like you never knew it_

_Ooh, I'll make it through_

_The time has come for me_

_To break out of the shell_

_I have to shout_

_That I'm coming out_

...she couldn't help but think that maybe they were true. He seemed thrilled to be doing this, ecstatic to be letting the real him out there. She didn't understand, but she was proud of him.

While Rachel had understood immediately, it took everyone else much longer to get it, which Quinn chocked up to the shock if it having rattled their brains because frankly, it was sort of obvious. The song was called "I'm Coming Out", after all.

The second the song ended, Quinn began clapping loudly. Around her, Rachel, Kurt, Finn, Mike and Mr. Schuester clapped as well. Sam smiled sheepishly, obviously not expecting such a reaction. After a few moments everyone else began clapping too, and Kurt jumped up and kissed his boyfriend happily.

Quinn smiled and cheered as Kurt wrapped his arms around Sam. They looked so happy, it was hard not to. Behind her, she heard Finn making a whooing sound, as he stood up in his chair and went over to where the two boys stood embracing. He put his arms around them, and judging by the looks on their faces, squeezed them very tightly.

Quinn laughed and ran over to hug them too, placing her small arms on top of Finn's long gangly ones. Mike, Rachel, Mercedes, and Tina joined the group as well, each congratulating Sam and Kurt as they squished them between their arms.

Quinn took her arms off them, and everyone else did the same. Now that they were separated, Quinn hugged Kurt on her own, whispering an apology in his ear. He smiled at her and whispered back that it was OK, and she hugged him tighter and felt like crying. As they broke apart, Artie motioned for Kurt bump fists with him, having just done so with Sam. Kurt awkwardly complied, blushing while he did it.

Everyone was taking turns hugging them and patting them on the shoulders now, including Brittany and Santana. The only one who hadn't come over was Puck, who sat sullenly alone. Quinn sighed and was about to go talk to him when Sam went over there himself.

Quinn watched them, breathing a sigh of relief when Sam laughed and smiled at Puck, and the two made their way over to the group. Puck said something to Sam, and his face went bright red. She didn't hear what Puck had said, but she did hear Sam inform him that that was most certainly none of his business.

Everyone was full of questions, and they didn't do anything actually glee related for the rest of the period.

"How long have you two been together?" Rachel questioned, staring intently at Kurt.

"About 2 weeks." Kurt said.

"2 weeks and 2 days, including today." Sam said promptly.

"You know it exactly?" Kurt asked, staring at Sam like he was the second coming.

Sam wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder. "Yes, I do. And don't pretend like you don't."

"Have you guys had sex yet? Whose on top?"

"Puck!" Sam, Kurt, Quinn and Finn shouted at the same time. Quinn couldn't believe how much of a pig he could be sometimes.

Sam blushed again, and so did Kurt. "Puck, I think that would fall under the category of 'none of your business'." He said curtly.

Puck nodded. "Got it. Hummel's totally on top."

"Listen dude, I know we agreed to be civil to one another and stuff, but if you talk about my brother like that again, I will beat you." Finn said. The dangerous look in his eyes told Quinn he was not kidding.

"I'll help!" Quinn chimed in, smiling sweetly. "Not necessarily for Kurt, but because I just really want an excuse to beat him."

Finn laughed and held out his fist to Quinn, who bumped it with her own. Mercedes smiled approvingly.

* * *

The bell rang, and everyone filed out, still buzzing excitedly. Sam and Kurt were the last to leave, as Mr. Schue held them back to talk to them. Quinn waited outside the door, trying to look like she wasn't listening in.

"Sam, I am so proud of what you did today. That took a lot of guts, and it means a lot to me that you trust us with something like this. It couldn't have been easy."

"Thanks Mr. Schue. I was glad to have a group of people I knew would accept me, so thank you."

"And Kurt, I want you to know how happy I am for you. I know it wasn't easy for you to be alone before, and I'm glad you found someone you cares about you."

"Loves you." Sam added. Quinn could practically hear Kurt blush.

"Thank You." Kurt said quietly. Quinn pressed her ear to the door to hear him.

"It means a lot to us to have your support." Quinn felt herself tearing up. She knew how important his approval could be. When she was pregnant, he was the only teacher she didn't feel was judging her, or thinking she was a whore. It had meant a lot to her, too.

And then suddenly, Quinn was on her face. It happened so quickly that it took Quinn a moment to figure out how it had happened. She figured that Kurt or Sam had happened the door to leave, and since she was leaning on the door…

"Quinn!" Mr. Schuester exclaimed as Sam helped her up. "We're you eavesdropping?"

Quinn blushed and looked down, brushing off her uniform. "Umm...well...only in the traditional sense of the word..." She mumbled.

Luckily, Sam and Kurt seemed more amused than upset, although Mr. Schuester looked a little disappointed.

"I didn't plan to, but I was waiting outside for Sam and Kurt and I heard you guys talking and my curiousty just got the better of me."

"Quinn, don't you know that curiosity killed the cheerleader?" Kurt asked, his arms crossed but his eyes laughing.

"Actually, I think that was the choir room door." Sam added.

Mr. Schue sighed. "Well, if you two aren't upset..."

Just then, Quinn's cell phone beeped. As Mr. Schue waved goodbye, she took out her phone and looked at the text.

**Me, Matt and Cam are v. bored. SAVE US!**

Quinn smiled.

"Who is it?" Kurt asked, peering at the screen.

"Kate." Quinn said. Kurt nodded, but Sam looked confused.

"Whose Kate?"

"Um, we met her at_ Chant_ when we...uh, ran into Quinn there."

"The girl with the man boots?"

Kurt snickered, and Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Those were her brothers, he gave them to her before he went away to university and she misses him very much. And they're not that bad."

"Uh huh, sure. What's she saying?" Kurt continued, poking Quinn on the arm.

"She's bored..." Quinn said, then got an idea. "Hey...are you two doing anything now?"

* * *

*Kate calls him Superman because in the last chapter (part 1), Quinn compared him to Brandon Routh, who played superman.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Quinn, Sam and Kurt met Kate, Cameron and Matt at a small cafe that was about halfway between where they lived and where Kate lived.

"Guess who came out today!" Quinn said immediately upon seeing Kate. Kate stared at her, looking reluctant to answer.

"I feel like this is a trick..." She said slowly.

_Crap, I shouldn't have phrased it like that..._Quinn mentally kicked herself. "Okay," she said, walking over to an empty table. "Let me rephrase that; Sam and Kurt came out today!"

"_Really?_ Oh my god that's fucking awesome!" Kate said loudly, causing a few people to turn and stare. She rushed over to hug them.

Quinn laughed as Kate hugged Sam, and he awkwardly hugged her back. Kurt was much more receptive, and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Um, congratulations?" Matt offered, standing stiffly behind Kate with Cameron.

"Oh, right." Kate said, laughing. "Sam and Kurt, this is Matt and Cam. Matt and Cam, meet Sam and _Kurt_."

"Oh, Kurt huh?" Cameron said, standing up straight. "So we finally meet."

"Huh?" Kurt asked, sitting next to Quinn at the table. Sam pushed another table next to it, so they could all sit.

"How long have you and Kate been shopping buddies?" Matt asked, sitting across from Kurt.

"How long have you been secret text message buddies?" Cameron added, sitting next to Matt.

"Are you trying to steal her away from us or something?"

"Are you an _alien?_"

"Where did you get your bow-tie?"

"Matt!" Cameron gasped, smacking his friend on the arm. "Betrayal much?"

Matt shrugged. "It's really cool."

Kurt blushed. "Um, about a week, we're not, no, I don't think so, and it's Zegna."

As the guys talked, Kate pulled Quinn aside. "So, what are you doing this Friday?" Kate asked, biting her lip seductively.

"Oh, I am very very busy. I was going to have the football team over for strip poker, and then the hockey team for naked spin the bottle, and then the basketball team is taking me to a strip club."

"Oh, well in that case I'll just go ask that red-head in the corner." Kate said, beginning to walk away. Quinn laughed and grabbed her arm.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked.

"Dinner and a movie?" Kate asked, shyly. "There's this really cool greek restaurant by my house that know one knows about."

Quinn smiled. "Dinner and movie, huh? How traditional."

"I'm just an old fashioned gal, I guess." Kate said with a shrug.

"I'd love to." Quinn said.

They returned to the table to find Cameron and Sam engaged in a very heated, and serious argument.

"There is no _way_ Spider-Man could take Batman in a fight!" Cameron insisted.

"How could he not take him? Spider-Man is a mutant with _superpowers_; Batman is a rich guy with funny gadgets." Sam shot back.

"He's trained in martial arts!" Cam protested. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Yeah lot of good that will do him with that bulky suit holding him back. Not to mention, Spider-Man would just tie him up in his web."

"No, you are _so_ wrong because-"

"Would you two please take your geekgasmically boring conversation somewhere else? Please?" Kate interrupted. "And besides, Batman would win." She added.

"I agree, he has the age and experience advantage. He's tougher and he has a tighter combat style." Quinn commented. Kate stared at her.

"That is the most amazing thing I have ever heard you say." She said, gaping.

Quinn blushed, and noticed Kurt looking at them suspiciously. She hoped he hadn't figured anything out.

They continued to chat like this for an hour, moving from comics, to movies and then school.

"...so then she says 'But why is called _The Divine Comedy_ if it's all full of hell and stuff?'" Kate was saying, speaking about a classmate of hers she deemed not particularly bright.

Quinn blushed, remembering having the same thought in 9th grade. "Some people just don't know the difference between classical comedy which involves anything that has a happy ending, and the funny comedy of today." She said defensively.

"Trust me, she's a moron." Kate said, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity." Quinn insisted, holding on to her own cappuccino.

Kate looked at her blankly. "In math class she once asked me what flavor of pie we were supposed to be using."

Quinn blinked. "...Okay, she's a moron. But my point still stands."

* * *

After Sam and Kurt dropped her off at her house, She went upstairs and took a bath. She didn't know why, but she always seemed to do her best thinking submerged in water. It was a habit she'd developed when she'd been pregnant.

She turned the tap water on, and watched the tub fill up. A lot had happened today. Sam and Kurt were out now. She couldn't believe it.

She thought of introducing Kate to people as her girlfriend, and she felt sick. She closed her eyes. That sounded horrible and she knew it, but it wasn't about Kate. Kate was great, she was funny and she made Quinn feel good.

It was thinking about how people would think of her once they knew...if they ever knew...about her. First she was the girl that got knocked up, and now she was a lesbian? Quinn ran her fingers through her long blond hair.

She wasn't ready to call herself that just yet.

She turned the water off and got into the tub, sinking down so low her head was totally submerged. She loved the silence, and the closed in feeling of being underwater.

She knew she didn't _need_ to be popular; not like she'd needed it before, in that desperate do-whatever-it-takes way. She knew she could survive, and that she would have her friends in glee to stick by her.

But she wanted it. In an ideal world, she could have Kate and Glee and still be just as popular as ever.

The water pounded in her ears, and her lungs felt like they were about to burst. She lifted her head out of the water and took in a deep breathe.

She knew she didn't live in an ideal world, she lived in this one. And in this world, if anyone knew about Kate that would be it for her at McKinley. She wasn't like Brittany and Santana, her and Kate weren't just fooling around. They were together.

She couldn't let people know. Today, Kurt had almost seemed like he knew, and while that frightened Quinn a little, she knew Kurt would keep her secret.

But she had begun to think of herself as having two different lives, in two different worlds; there was the life she lived in her world at school and at home, and there was the life she lived with Kate.

Those two worlds had met today, and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She had sort of liked the separateness of those worlds. She could be who she was at school, and then go to Kate be someone totally different. She could be herself.

However, she couldn't deny that today had been fun. Hanging out with Matt, Cam, Kurt, Sam and Kate had been nice, and she lately she had realized how much drama her life was usually filled with. It felt like she never did anything fun or easy anymore.

Everything with Kate was fun (although not all of it was easy). It had been nice to just hang out and chat about stupid things.

She smiled to herself, thinking about how Cam and Sam would react if they knew she had just mentally called their comic books stupid.

Her stomach flip flopped again when she thought of Sam. He was so different now, he seemed so happy and excited. She couldn't remember if he'd ever even mentioned comic books to her when they were together. She'd had no idea who he really was, none at all. She guessed Kurt had brought all of that out of him, made it ok for Sam to be who he was.

This was all very confusing. She liked Kate a lot, but she didn't want anyone to know that. She wanted to be herself, but not around the people at school. She wanted them to like her, and not know anything about her.

Quinn sighed, coming to the only possible resolution she could; she just wouldn't think about it.

* * *

After Monday, the rest of the week was pretty boring. Glee club was definitely the high light of the week. They were rehearsing for Regionals now, and everyone was pretty freaked out about going up against vocal adrenaline again.

Glee on Wednesday started with Rachel making a formal presentation to the class, which was always fun. Quinn could already feel her eyes aching, and she hadn't even rolled them yet.

"OK, so since you were all present at our crushing defeat at hands of Vocal Adrenaline last year- except Sam-"

"It's Ok Rachel, I got the videos you sent me...and the powerpoint presentation." Sam cut in.

"What about the pie charts?"

"Yeah, those too."

"Good." Rachel said, beaming. Quinn rolled her eyes, a record breaking 30 seconds into Rachel's speech.

"As I was saying, you were all there as Vocal Adrenaline ripped our dreams out of our still beating chests and dangled them in front of our faces. In order to make sure that doesn't happen again, I have spent the last few weeks very carefully studying not only our's and their's performances at sectionals, but every performance of their's that has been uploaded on the net." As she spoke, she began distributing folders to everyone.

Quinn opened hers up to find a pile of graphs with names like "Level of Audience Enthusiasm in Relation to Sex Appeal" and lists with titles such as "Ways Our Individuality is Destroying Our Chances at Winning Anything Ever."

She looked at the graphs, charts and diagrams and- wait for it- rolled her eyes.

"Now, if you would all kindly direct your attention to the chart headed 'Reasons We Lost So Bad'-"

"That's a pie chart." Sam said, smiling. Kurt kissed Sam on the cheek and smiled back. Quinn saw Santana mime a lewd gesture to Brittany, bobbing her head and pretending to thrust something invisible in her mouth. Quinn sneered in disgust.

"Yes, Sam, that is one of the pie charts I sent you." Rachel said, annoyed at the interruption. "Now, if you look at the chart I've made, you will see that the pie is divided into 5 categories; sex appeal, diversity, hipness, talent and adrenaline."

Quinn was pleased to see that talent was the smallest piece, though she thought that Rachel might only have done that based purely on her own talents, as opposed to their talents as a group. Sex appeal, diversity and hipness were all about the same size. The largest piece was adrenaline, which Quinn didn't understand. What did that even mean?

"Um, Rachel, I don't understand what you mean by adrenaline. How is that our biggest problem?" Mercedes asked, staring at Rachel with raised eyebrows. Quinn smiled at her friend.

"Well Mercedes, I'm glad you asked." Rachel grinned. Quinn gulped. That did not look like a grin that was going to lead to anything good.

"I give you, Exhibit A," Rachel said, and with a flourish ripped off the front piece of paper on the chart behind her to reveal a picture underneath.

"Jesse St. James." She said, snapping her pointer onto the picture for emphasis. Had she had that a second ago? Who the frig gave her a pointer?

The picture showed Jesse, lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline, charismatically singing Bohemian Rhapsody. Quinn noticed that Rachel had drawn devil horns and a tail on him, and she grinned. _Hell hath no fury…._

"What do you see here?" She said, pointing with her pointer to the picture.

"A douche bag beggin for a smack down?" Puck said, slamming his fist into his palm.

"A soulless monster with fabulous hair?" Kurt offered.

"The Devil." Finn said. It wasn't a question.

"Well, yes, you are all technically correct, but that wasn't what I was referring to. What he see here is adrenaline. That pure insane intoxicating charisma that the crowd feeds off of! They have it, and we need it."

"I have lots of adrenaline, my mom packs it for me every day for lunch." Brittany said.

"Yeah." Artie said, putting his hand on Brittany's knee. She smiled at him.

"Whatever." Rachel said, rolling her eyes. "Now, in order to match Vocal Adrenaline's adrenaline levels, we need to start getting 'pumped up' before preforming. I suggest we all select some adrenaline inducing songs to perform together as practice, and before each song, Quinn, Santana and Brittany will 'pump us up' so to speak."

Quinn widened her eyes, and Puck raised his eyebrows lewdly. "I am totally fine with letting them pump me up." He volunteered.

"Why us?" Quinn asked, unable to believe that Rachel wanted to include someone else in her plans.

"Well, you're cheerleaders. I figured you were the experts on getting people pumped up."

Quinn raised her eyebrow. "You actually want us to do something?"

Rachel nodded. "We're a team, and we need to work together as team so that we can_ win_ like a team."

"Wow, what happened to Rachel 'It's all about me' Berry?" She said, smiling.

Rachel's eyes flashed dangerously. "I really want to take Jesse down."


	12. Chapter 11

**Right so it has been pointed out to me that Jesse graduated last year. But fuck that.**

**Also, chapter contains minor spoilers for the movie Black Swan. Very minor.**

Quinn was in the car, driving towards her date with Kate. Every now and then the facts of it would pop up and surprise the hell out of her all over again.

She was going on a date. With a girl. Date with a girl. _Weird._

But then she thought of Kate's electrifying smile, and the warm brown colour of her eyes and she remembered why she was doing it.

In theory, the facts of it were odd. In actuality, she felt very excited. Everything was new and different with Kate, it was all so unlike any relationship she'd ever been in. In a very good way.

She pulled up to the small greek restaurant Kate had mentioned (appropriately titled "A Small Greek Restaurant") and went inside. It was very quaint, dimly lit and had a soft cozy feel to it. There were only two other groups of people in the restaurant that Quinn could see, so she guessed Kate hadn't been lying when she said know one knew about it.

"Hello," The host said, noticing Quinn standing there. "You wouldn't be Quil, would you?"

Quinn widened her eyes in surprise. "Um, Quinn. Yeah, that's me..." She said. The host smiled.

"You're friend is waiting for you, come follow me." He said, beginning to walk to the back of the restaurant. Quinn followed him, wondering how he knew who she was.

They turned a corner and the host turned to her. "You're friend told me that she was meeting a beautiful and angelic looking blond." Quinn blushed. "She is very strange, you're friend. But interesting. I approve."

Quinn really wasn't sure how to respond to that, so she just smiled and nodded. She thought about Bruce the Douchebag Bartender and Dan O'Brien, self appointed "Head Dick In Charge" at _Chant_ and wondered if Kate ever went anywhere with normal staff. She highly doubted it.

The host took her to a booth in a smaller section of the restaurant, where Kate was sitting at a table coloring on a kids menu. She smiled broadly when she saw Quinn, and Quinn felt those butterflies rise back up in her stomach.

The host left them and Quinn took a seat across from Kate. She suddenly felt extraordinarily nervous.

"Er, what are you drawing?" Quinn asked, determined not to sit in silence. Kate turned the menu to show Quinn how she'd taken the friendly looking cartoons on the children's menu and turned them into zombies. She was in the middle of zombifying all the children's menu items as well. "You can have a brainburger with a side of fingers, an entrail gyro, or Sue-vlaki." She told her, coloring blood dripping from the cartoons mouth.

"There's nothing zombified about Souvlaki." Quinn pointed out.

Kate grinned devilishly. "There is if you knew Sue."

Quinn laughed. "You're gross, you know that right?"

Kate shrugged. "I prefer to live in a permanent state of denial."

"Sue is the name of my cheerleading coach." Quinn said, trying to imagine what "Sue-vlaki" would look like. "I don't think she'd be a pleasant thing to digest."

They waiter came by and took their orders just then. Quinn was about to order a salad, but changed her mind. She wanted actual food, and by george she was going to have it.

"I'll have the chicken souvlaki." She said confidently, handing her menu to the waiter.

"Would you like the side salad or fries?"

"Fries." Quinn said. She hadn't had fries since she was pregnant. She felt daring.

Kate smiled and ordered the same thing. "What's with that defiant look on your face?"She asked, amused.

"I don't usually eat...food." Quinn said, putting her hair behind her ear self-consciously.

"Oh, well then for someone who should have starved to death a long time ago, you look truly speculator."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "I mean, I usually eat salad. Or vegetables. Or something else boring and fat-free. And I never eat anything with more than 60 calories in it on a _date_. That's unheard of."

Kate smiled. "Why the change?"

Quinn shrugged. "I didn't think you'd judge me."

"I promise not to, if you don't judge me when I tell you that I have never willingly eaten a salad in my life."

"You are my new hero." Quinn said, pretending to stare at Kate with true amazement.

Kate laughed. "Salads are gross. It's just the way I feel."

"Agreed."

"Then why do you eat them?"

Quinn sighed. "Well, when I was preggo my views towards food sort of changed. That was the first time it ever actually occurred to me that you need food to live. That sounds weird, I know, but before, eating was just like this annoying thing people tried to make you do so you'd be fat. But then I had to eat, for my baby. Not to mention, I was so freakin' hungry all the time and for the weirdest things. Chocolate covered fries were a big thing."

Kate laughed. "That either sounds amazing or disgusting, I can't tell. It's right on the line."

"It was amazing. " She said, smiling. "But that may have been the hormones. Either way, I gained a lot of weight, obviously. And after I...you know...well I was determined to get my old life back the way it was. So food stopped being this thing I needed to do, and started once again being a burden. I ate salads like crazy, and basically spent the whole summer doing nothing but working out to get all that fat off. I thought once I did, once I got my old body back...everything would go back to the way it was." She sighed.

"Did it?" Kate asked, propping her chin up with her elbows.

Quinn shook her head. "No. I mean, sure I was head cheerleader again, and I had a hot boyfriend and everything was going back to how it was but...I don't know. I felt empty."

"Cheerleading and hot boyfriends just didn't do it for you anymore?"

"I don't know...it wasn't that. I still love cheerleading, and I still feel good when I do it...but it's not enough anymore. I feel like there was _more_ to it before, and I'm forgetting something...I don't know, it's hard to explain."

"No, I get it. You need more now. Being popular isn't enough."

Quinn considered that. "Maybe. But part of me still feels like its because I'm not popular _enough_. Like I need to try harder and then everything will be good again."

"Or maybe you're trying too hard, and to be happy you just need to sit back and enjoy what you have."

"Maybe..." Quinn said slowly. There food was arriving now, and Quinn suddenly realized she was starving. Damn, the fries looked good. She was so glad she'd gotten them.

"I've always thought popularity was overrated" Kate said lightly, picking up one of her own fries.

Quinn smiled and narrowed her eyes. "You know who says that?" She said, taking a fry off Kate's plate. "Unpopular people."

Kate stuck out her tongue.

After dinner, they went to see "Black Swan". Kate loved it, but Quinn wasn't sure what she thought about it.

"I think I need to see it again..." She said after they left the theatre. Kate was doing her own version of ballet across the parking lot. It was fairly spastic.

"Why?" She asked, "pirouetting" around her.

"I don't know. There was a lot going on. I think I need to watch it again to know what I think."

Kate grinned and did an awkward plie. "You just want to see the lesbian scene again."

Quinn laughed. "That was a good scene. I got an odd sense of Deja Vu..."

"Cool, I'm Mila Kunis in that scenario, right?" Quinn nodded. "Sweet. I'm hot."

"Very." Quinn said, smiling as she leaned forward to kiss her. Kate's lips were soft and warm, and she smelled amazing.

As Kate wrapped her arms around her waist, Quinn sighed and moved her mouth to Kate's ear.

"You smell like raspberries..."

* * *

They'd been practicing like crazy for the last two weeks, and Quinn felt confident about their skills. She also felt exhausted.

"Ok everyone, today we will be singing 'What we're all about' By Sum 41." Rachel said, standing at the front of the room, smiling.

"We know, we practiced it on Monday." Artie pointed out.

"Yeah, I cheered so hard my boobs hurt." Santana sneered.

"Maybe you shouldn't have paid thousands of dollars to have all that extra weight added to them then." Quinn said, looking at her nails. She thought she heard Santana growl.

"Hey, this is not the team spirit I'm looking for." Rachel said. "We need to be together!" She said, raising a fist in the air in a way she probably thought looked tough.

"Rachel's right everyone, if we want to beat Vocal Adrenaline, then we need to work as a team." Finn said, going up the front to stand by his girlfriend. "Now come on, let's do this!"

Everyone looked unimpressed.

"See, that's the problem, right there. You guys all think you're too cool to get pumped up. Its that apathy that is going to cost us Regionals again."

Quinn looked around the room. Rachel had a point. Santana was filing her nails, Tina was texting on her cell phone, Sam and Kurt we're making googly eyes at each other, and Brittany was covering Artie's wheel chairs in rhinestone stickers. She sighed. She hated it when Rachel was right. She stood up.

"You guys, as much as it's literally crushing my soul to say this, Rachel and Finn are right. I know you all want to win just as badly as I do, and I have seen it in you to give truly incredibly, adrenaline filled performances. But those are sporadic, and we don't do them consistently. If we really want to win we need to practice."

"Practice makes perfect." Rachel beamed.

"That is why they have that saying..." Sam added.

"Alright then, so we're agreed. Finn?" Quinn said, smiling.

"Let's do this!"

* * *

"Yeah practice was good. I made a speech!" Quinn said, chatting happily on the phone with Kate after school.

Kate laughed. "Yeah? Was it epic?"

"Oh very. The earth shook with its epicness."

"Exciting. Wish I coulda been there."

"Me too. We could use someone like you on our team actually." She said truthfully. Kate's voice wasn't very polished, but she had a raw charisma that was certainly enticing.

Kate snorted "Yeah I'm sure I'd fit I swell."

"But you would. The more ragtag you are, the better. It's sort of our groups thing."

"Isn't half the group football players and cheerleaders?" Kate asked skeptically.

"Yeah. It's complicated." Quinn said shrugging, even though Kate couldn't see her.

Kate laughed. "Sounds it."

"Rachel says its our ragtagness thats partially responsible for bringing us down. We need to be more 'united'. Which sucks because our individuality was the only thing we had going for us. She wants to do trust exercises now. To bring us together."

"This Rachel sounds like a piece of work."

"Oh she is. I mean, she means well but she just has this manic energy about her that sort of scares me."

"Fear not, I will protect you!" Kate said dramatically. Quinn imagined her standing in a superhero pose, with her hands placed assuredly on her hips, and she giggled. Just then her mother walked, and Quinn said goodbye to Kate.

"Who were you talking to?" Quinn's mother asked, sitting down on the couch in their living room.

"No one. Just a friend." Quinn said quickly. She went to go up to her room but her mother called her back. Grudgingly, she went to go sit beside her.

"Quinny, sweetie, why don't we talk?" She asked, brushing Quinn's hair back behind her ear. Quinn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother got like this urge at least once a month, (Quinn was beginning to think it coincided with her period) wanting to bond and be all "Gilmore Girls" like. It always passed quickly, and she went back to focusing on her friends and revamping her life.

"I don't know Mom." Quinn said. She wished she would stop having these bursts of sudden interest. It just made it harder to deal with when she went back to pretending she was a young singleton and Quinn was just a roommate.

"Why don't you tell me about your new friend?" She pressed.

"Look, Mom I've got a lot of homework to do, I can't really talk right now." She said, standing up. Her mother looked hurt, but Quinn knew she'd get over it in a day or so.

She went quickly up to her room and lay down on her bed. She closed her eyes and tried to imagine telling her mother about Kate. Yeah, right. She would freak out.

_Everyone would._

Quinn groaned and pulled a pillow over her head. She pushed that thought away from her mind. She hated how indecisive she was about Kate. One minute she couldn't get enough of seeing her, the next she couldn't stop obsessing over how everyone would react if they knew.

They'd gone on 4 more dates over the last few weeks, and Quinn had had a great time on every one of them. They'd seen Black Swan again, and Quinn had determined that she definitely did like it.

It had made her think about a lot of different things, but she still couldn't come to any conclusions about them. She saw so much of herself in the character of Nina, and that frightened her. She was always determined to be perfect, to be the best, to have everything.

And then there was Lilly, so sexy and light. She was effortless and careless. Unrefined, but with a natural and addicting charisma. It was so familiar.

She didn't know what it meant. Didn't know what any of it meant, really. Was it a sign? Should she run from Kate? Or let herself get lost in her, in her imperfection? Where had Nina gone wrong?

She knew her confusion wasn't fair to Kate, and she was beginning to get a little sick of herself and her own thoughts.

Her mind turned to Sam, and how much happier he seemed now. She knew he was in the process of coming out, to everyone, and while she didn't know how he felt about that, she was scared for him.

Scared for herself.

Sam's situation seemed to mirror her own and if Sam was crucified, she was pretty sure she would never be able to move her relationship with Kate out of the closet.

So far his coming out just consisted of spending a lot of time with Kurt, something people had yet to notice. They would soon enough, and then the names and harassment would start. Quinn opened her eyes under her pillow, and looked at the blurred flower shapes close to her eyes.

She was not going to think about this anymore. She was getting nowhere. She needed to talk to someone, get a perspective that wasn't her own. But who?

Her mother?_ Fuck no._

One of her cheerleading friends? _Hahaha...yeah...right._

Kate? _No, it would hurt her to much…_

The answer seemed obvious. It was ironic. She had opened herself up so easily to Kate because of her determination not to need men, and to never be with one again. And here she was, calling up the very man that forced her into that mindset in the first place because the truth was, she needed him.

_Fuck._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: Yeah, I don't really know how I feel about this chapter...But at least Quinn's realized she should talk to Sam now, and maybe he can help her. Who knows?**

**Well, I do...because this story is in my head...but you know what I mean**.** Also, it just jumped forward two weeks because I don't like writing in the past. It's still like a month behind my other story "Everything." **


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N This chapter starts at the time when my other story "Everything" was starting.**

Chapter 12:

It was two weeks since Quinn had decided she needed to talk to Sam, and she was getting around to it. Really, she was.

Now just wasn't a good time. They were practing like crazy for regionals, and Sam and Kurt were really putting Sam's whole coming out plan into motion. They were spending every available minute with each other, and Quinn saw them getting a lot of flak for it.

"I heard their _totally_ doing it." Quinn heard someone say while they were warming up for Cheerio's practice. She looked and saw a curly haired girl named Heather was talking to another girl on the squad named Rebecca. "Kurt was stalking Sam like he used to do with Finn and one day Sam was soo horny that he he jus-"

"Hey, if you keep talking like that 'bout them, I _will_ be starting something with yo face. And it will _not _be the type of thing you want ta see finished." Quinn was utterly surprised to hear Santana snap. Brittany was nodding her head by Santana's side.

"Sam and Kurt are our bros. If you diss them, we'll mess you up." Brittany said in her vacant and mechanical manner.

"Mmhmm" Santana agreed. Heather rolled her eyes and went back to her stretching.

A week later, Sam rushed up to her in the hallway. He was dripping wet and looked frantic. He was clutching what looked like a blue rag in his hands.

"Sam, what the hell happened?" She asked, eyeing the puddles he was making on floor.

Sam looked down at his soaked body, as if he had forgotten that he was currently sopping wet. "Oh, I showered in my clothes."

"Of course you did." She refrained from asking why, sure it was no reason she wanted to know.

"Look I need I need your help with something," He continued quickly. "Never mind my wetness."

Quinn bit down on her lip, determined not to laugh at "nevermind my wetness". Sam was upset about something, he didn't need to know that Kate was basically turning her into a pervert.

"Ok, sure. What do you need." She said, keeping her distance from his dripping letterman jacket.

"Well, it involves skipping school..." Sam began slowly, evaluating her reaction.

Quinn thought for a minute, and considered the class she had next. It was french. Yuck. "Great, I have french next period. What else?"

"I need to know where they sell Marc Jacobs." he said seriously. She raised her eyebrow.

"Your emergency was you just realized you don't have nearly enough designer clothes to be as gay as you are? Because don't worry, you have the hair."

"Shh!"Sam said quickly, glancing around. No one else seemed to be the hallways. "Telling people isn't for another 4 steps!"

"Sorry, sorry." Quinn said quickly.

"That's ok. But today Jamie and Karofsky slushied me and Kurt and they ruined his shirt." Sam said, holding up what Quinn had mistaken for a rag. She could now see that it was wrinkled remains of what had once been a really nice Mark Jacobs shirt.

"Ouch." Quinn cringed.

"Yeah, and he spent $150.00 on it, and he's really upset and I hate that they did that to him..."

"So you're going to get him a new one?" She asked, trying to keep from adding an "awww" to the end of her sentence.

Sam nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I know it won't like fix everything or really make anything better and it seems silly but fashion is really important to Kurt and I don't want them to be able to ruin something he loves so much. I want him to know that if they try and mess with him, I'm going to be there to make it better…" Sam trailed off.

Quinn threw her arms around Sam. "Sam thats beautiful!" She cried. "That is like literally the sweetest thing in the whole world."

Sam smiled and hugged Quinn back. "Thanks. So where can we get a shirt like this?"

30 minutes later, Sam and Quinn arrived at the only mall in Lima where Quinn knew they sold designer clothes. The store that was most likely to have it was called "Prestige". Quinn had used to love that store, and had admittedly spent hundreds of dollars of her allowance on clothes from it.

As she came in it now, her first impression was that it reeked of snob. She crinkled her nose and was about to make a comment to Sam when they were approached by an anorexic looking sales lady wearing a thinly veiled look of disgust on her face.

"Oh hi." Sam said, ignoring the sales woman's obvious contempt for him. "Um, I need this shirt. But obviously a not stained one. But this exact one. Can you find it?" He asked hopefully.

The sales lady, whose name Quinn could see was Megan, looked Sam up and down taking in his ruffled and still damp clothes. When she spoke, it was with more than a hint of sneer.

"Sir, if you don't stop dripping over the merchandise, I am going to have to call security."

Sam frowned and Quinn scoffed. Bitch.

"Can you excuse me a moment?" Quinn said, leading Sam away from Megan McBitchypants.

"Why don't you wait outside the store, I'll deal with Miss. Stick-up-her-ass and call you when we have the shirt, ok?" She said. Sam looked put out. Quinn guessed he had really wanted to do the footwork himself. "It'll only take a minute." She assured him. Sam nodded and reluctantly handed Quinn the shirt he was clutching.

She sighed. Men were so fragile.

He turned and walked back out of the store, standing directly in font of it and blocking the entrance way. He smiled widely.

"So, Megan. Like my friend said, we're looking for this shirt." She said, holding up Kurt's stained one.

Megan took the shirt from her, holding it between her thumb and index finger like it was covered in germs. "I'll be right back."

Quinn watched Megan disapear into the back of the store. She really hoped they had that shirt there. Not only had they come a long way, she had a feeling that Sam might implode if he couldn't make everything right for Kurt.

She considered talking to him about Kate on the drive back, and was weighing the pros and cons of it when Megan of the insanely bitchy came back.

"We have one." She said dryly, handing the packaged shirt to Quinn. She cheered and motioned for Sam to come back over. Sam came back into the store, smiling insanely.

"That's it?" Sam asked excitedly, pointing the package in Quinn's hands. She nodded. Sam pumped his fist in the air.

"YUS!" He said loudly, then reached over and hugged Megan. She squirmed visibly against his damp body and pushed him away with a look of revulsion.

"Sorry." Sam said with a lopsided grin. He paid for the shirt and they left, making sure that Sam dripped on as much items as possible on his back out of the store.

* * *

On the drive back, Quinn tried to subtly bring up the subject of coming out.

"So, how's coming out coming...out?" She asked, the epitome of smoothness.

"Well, not great right now." Sam sighed.

"But in general, you feel good about it?" She asked tentatively.

"Yeah I guess. I mean, its hard. On me, on Kurt, on us...but I hate hiding it. I hate pretending I'm something I'm not, and I hate being made to feel like it's something I should hide, something to be ashamed of. I'm not going to let others tell me who it's ok to be anymore. I'm going to be who I want, and this is a part of me."

_Damn, when did Sam get deep? _"Yeah? Well, that's...good." She said.

"Yeah, it is good but like I said. It's hard, and its taking a lot out of me. And the shitty part is, I know it's just going to get worse." He sighed again.

"Is it worth it? Telling the truth? Is it worth all the crap you have to deal with?"

Sam looked at her sideways. "Why are you suddenly so interested in coming out?" He said suspiciously.

"What? I'm not." She said much too quickly, then concentrated on the road with forced determination.

"Right. Of course not. You're just asking a lot of questions for someone whose not interested, is all." He mused.

"I, well. I just. Shut up." She muttered.

Sam sighed. "Quinn, I know about Kate. I know you're like...together."

Quinn's eyes grew wide, and she was pretty sure she felt all the colour drain from her face. "What? How? It was Kurt wasn't it? I knew he knew...I mean...no." _Shit._

He shook his head. "It was Finn, actually."

"Finn knows? "Quinn said, shocked. Finn didn't know anything!

"Well, Finn suspected. But yeah, Kurt knew too, and the panicked look on his face when Finn mentioned it sort of confirmed it for me."

Quinn made a mental note to murder Kurt. "How long have you known?"

He shrugged. "About a week?"

"Why didn't you say anything!" She cried.

"I dunno, I figured if you wanted to talk about it, you'd say something."

She threw her hands up. "I've been wanting to say something for the last_ two weeks_ and I didn't know how! And you already knew. Of course you did." She mumbled.

"So I take it you're thinking of coming out?" He said, trying to move the conversation a long.

"What? _No._ Who said that? I didn't. No one said that."

"Geez Quinn, calm down." Sam said, raising his eyebrows. "I was just asking because you've been questioning_ me_ about it."

Quinn sighed. "I'm sorry...I just don't know what to do. I mean, part of me wants to, you know, come out. I think."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I want to come out, or if I just feel like I _should _want to come out or if I never ever want to come out...I just don't know what to do. What did you do? I mean, how did you decide what to do?"

Sam considered this. "Well, I talked to Kurt about it a lot. At first, I was really unwilling to tell people...I was so scared about how they'd treat me, how they'd think of me...and Kurt told me that was ok, and he told me we would wait for me to be ready. I think that helped a lot, you know? Just knowing that someone would be with me no matter what."

_Of course._ "Yeah...I don't really want to bring this stuff to Kate. Sort of why I'm talking to you." She said thickly.

"Are you sure, because I think it's probably-"

"No."

"Ok. If you're sure."

"I am."

"Alright then..." Sam said, looking out the passenger side window. Quinn thought she heard him mutter something about female stubbornness under his breath, but she couldn't be positive.

* * *

They pulled up to Kurt's house 20 minutes later, and Sam thanked Quinn and began to get out of the car.

"Wait, I'm just gonna leave you here?" She asked. "What if it doesn't go well."

Sam looked like he hadn't considered that. "Well...hopefully it will? I mean...it was just a small fight. Hardly even a fight. More like a tiff."

Quinn raised her eyebrows. "Ok, well tiff or not, I should stay just incase."

"But then if it does go well...you'll be here..." Sam said, looking at the ground.

"Thanks." She said, her hands on her hips. "Look, I get that you wan't to get all the credit for coming to your boyfriends fashion rescue but-"

"That's not it." Sam said quickly. She rolled her eyes.

"BUT" She continued. "I'd like to stay just to make sure. I'll hide, and if things go well, I'll leave. And on the small chance they don't, you won't have to walk home."

Sam considered this. "But he'll see you driving away."

"I'll park down the street."

"He'll see you walk down the street."

"So distract him!" She cried. Lord, he was frustrating.

"How?"

"Sam, I'm sure you can think of something."

"I guess...you should take the car down the street, he'll probably be home soon."

Quinn nodded, got in her car and drove it around the corner. When she walked back to Kurt's house, Sam was pacing the driveway nervously.

She sighed. "Sam, it will be fine. Kurt knows you love him, and you've just spent $150 to reaffirm that for him. No way he stays mad."

Sam nodded, looking worried.

Just then, Quinn saw Kurt's car coming up the street. "He's coming!" She shouted, and they both dove into the bushes by his front door.

Quinn saw Kurt pull into his drive way and get out of the car. She looked at Sam crouching beside her. "Why are you hiding?" She mouthed silently.

"I panicked." He mouth back. She rolled her eyes.

From their spot in the bushes, Sam and Quinn watched Kurt storm inside and slam the door. Sam gulped.

"Go you big dummy!" Quinn said, pushing Sam out of their hiding spot. She watched him knock on the front door, teetering back and forth nervously on his feet. She actually felt a little anxious herself. What if Kurt was really mad at him? What if they broke up?

She was surprised by how sad that thought made her. She wondered if she was becoming far too emotionally involved in their relationship. That probably wasn't healthy.

Oh well.

Kurt opened the door, and for a second Quinn was sure he was just going to yell at Sam and slam the door in his face. She had never seen someone so delicate look so _scary_.

But when he looked at Sam, his expression softened immediately and Quinn knew it would be fine.

Sam handed Kurt his shirt and Kurt seemed stunned for a minute, and then Sam pulled him into his arms. Kurt buried his face in Sam's chest, and Sam gave Quinn the thumbs up.

She resisted the urge to squeal and hug them both, and quietly snuck down the street to her car.

* * *

After witnessing their adorable reconciliation the day before, Quinn was surprised to find Sam still upset over Kurt the next day at school.

"I'm sure he's fine, Sam." She said. He seemed fine to her. He wasn't dressed as flashy as usual, but if she was being honest she sort of thought his outfits were a bit over the top anyways. Simple was always better.

"But he's not." Sam insisted.

"How do you know?"

"I..I just do. I can tell. He's different. He slapped me on the arm."

"Oh my god, he hit you?" Quinn asked, shocked.

"No, it was like a friend thing like 'See ya later bro!'" Sam said, demonstrating by lightly tapping Quinn on the shoulder.

"So?"

Sam stared at her, his expression saying "What do you mean 'so'?" Quinn was having a hard time not rolling her eyes and walking away. It would appear Kurt had some competition for drama queen in the relationship.

"Sam, you're over reacting. Kurt is fine, you guys are_ supposed_ to be acting like just friends, remember?"

"No, we're supposed to be 'vaguely couple-like' remember?" Sam asked. He had a wild glint in his eye that was starting to freak her out. She took a step back.

"Yes, I remember. It was my idea." She said dryly. This conversation needed to end soon, or she was not going to be able to remain patient. Maybe this was that "angry/violent" streak of hers she was always hearing people talk about.

"Well that's not couple like at all! That's friends like. And we're not friends." Sam said sadly. His giant lips drooped into a pout and Quinn sighed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"Now Sam," she said slowly. "I want you to listen to me. Very. Carefully. There is _nothing_ wrong with Kurt. He is fine, you're just insane, ok?"

Unfortunately, it would appear she had lost his attention. Sam was now staring at Rachel, who was walking down the hallway in her usual "I'm pretending to be strong but I'm really just desperate for attention" way. And her usual gross sweater.

As he watched her, that odd glint came back to his eye. Quinn took the opportunity to back slowly away, before she got stuck analyzing whether or not it looked like Kurt had been moisturizing for the past few days.

She was beginning to see why coming out was important to Sam; keeping all that Kurt obsession bottled up must be truly exhausting.

* * *

After her next class, Quinn was on her way to the cafeteria when she heard someone call her name in the hallways. She stopped walking and closed her eyes. "Please don't be Sam. Please don't be Sam..." she whispered quietly.

"Hey Quinn!" Finn said, catching up to her. She smiled widely in relief.

"Hi Finn. Great to see you." She said enthusiastically. He smiled.

"Are you going into the caf?" He asked, pointing to the doorway.

She smiled. "Was I going into the place where I was headed before you stopped me? Yes, I was."

"Oh, right yeah. Obviously." He laughed. She shook her head. She had missed Finn's obliviousness. "Do you want to sit together?" He asked.

She thought about who she would eat lunch with otherwise. The cheerio's, probably. She took a moment and imagined trying to disgest her food while listening to Santana and Heather argue about who the best ways to keep collagen injections from droopping.

"Hell yes."

"Good." Finn said, smiling. They wandered into the cafeteria and sat in an fairly empty corner.

Quinn took out the sandwich she had and Finn got up briefly to get a burger from the eatery. When he came back, she was already eating her lunch.

"Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen you eat something not green." He said, smiling approvingly at her sandwich.

"Hey, there is lettuce in here you know, and oh look a tomato." She joked. But he was probably right. She used to hate eating in front of him, even a salad.

"You seem good lately." Finn said. "Happy, I mean."

"I am..." Quinn said. Then she remembered.

* * *

Finn knew.

* * *

About Kate.

* * *

And her.

* * *

_Together._

* * *

She stared at him, her eyes wide. _Oh god._

"You ok?" He asked.

"Um, well. I. You. And then..." She stammered. He raised his eyebrows.

"You're allowed to be happy Quinn, I mean...calm down?" He said, confused.

She sighed. "I know...you know..." she said quietly.

"Know what? Oh. About Kate." He said smiling proudly. He was obviously pleased he'd managed to figure something out on his own for once. Of course it had to be this.

"Yeah. I...I'm..." She tried to explain the pounding in her chest, and the sudden panic she felt. "I'm scared." She said simply. She wasn't sure scared was the right word, but it was the closest one to it.

"About what?" Finn asked, confused again.

"About people knowing...I just...I can't take thinking about them treating me they treat Kurt, and Sam now. I can't go through that again..." She said. The memories of being slushied, of having people stare at her and point in the hallways...they were terrible.

"I won't relive that." She said.

"Quinn, no would treat you like that." Finn said honestly. She raised her eyebrow.

"It's true. Sam and Kurt get it bad cuz their dudes. You're not a dude. People would think it was hot."

She laughed. Everything was so simple with Finn. "I don't think so..."

"Why wouldn't they? Look at Brittany and Santana." He said, gesturing towards the cheerio's table. Quinn glanced over, and saw Brittany making some wild gesture with her arms while Santana pointed to a small bottle she was holding. She was so glad she had no clue what they were talking about.

"It's different Finn. Kate and I aren't like them..." She said quietly.

"Yeah, but no one would know that."

"Finn, what classes does Rachel have and when are they?" Sam said, appearing suddenly behind them. Quinn sighed. _Oh joy, more of the "I'm in love with Kurt Hummel" Show._ They were adorable and all...but she had a limit.

"Why?" Finn asked suspiciously.

"Because Rachel and Kurt are very similar, and I thought she could, I dunno, tell me what was up with him." He said. This was getting ridiculous.

Quinn sighed again. "Maybe nothing's up with him. Maybe you're just incredibly paranoid."

Sam shook his head, like such an idea was incredibly impossible. "Something's wrong, I can tell. I just don't know what. I need to know where Rachel will be so I can meet her after class. I can't talk to her in glee, Kurt will be there."

She decided not to tell him how insane he sounded.

"She's in your math class." Finn said. "Talk to her then."

Sam looked startled. "She is?" He got a spaced out look on his face, like he was trying to remember something really difficult.

"Yeah, for a while now. Like, the whole year." Finn said, in a "Duh" voice.

"Huh, well would you look at that." Sam said. He grinned madly and walked away without another word.

"Dudes whipped." Finn said once Sam was gone. Quinn snorted with laughter.

"Totally."

"Quinn, just so you know, whatever you decide to do, you know about Kate. If you decide to tell people, or keep it to yourself or whatever, I want you to know I'll like...be there for you and stuff."

Quinn looked at Finn, and fought the desire to burst into tears.

"I...thanks Finn. That means...a lot to me." She said honestly. It was when he said things like that that she was sure she was going to a deep and dark layer of hell for cheating on him.

"No problem." Finn said, grinning at her in that goofy way of his. "And if you guys ever feel like making out in front of me, I'm good with that too."

* * *

**A/N: Did you guys watch Glee? I liked it, considering it was about Justin Beiber who I am not a fan of, I thought it was good. But more importantly, YAY DORKY SAM! Also, Rachel and Mercedes were awesome, I love that she has friends now. I would put their friendship in if I didn't have the world's hardest time writing Mercedes. Maybe I'll give it another shot.**

**Also, I am currently working on another story that I don't know if you guys will be interested in. It's insanely different from my other ones. It's a lot darker, and its not humor/romance. I won't publish it until it's finished, because when I started I wasn't sure I would be able to finish it, since I've never written anything like that before. I've actually sort of freaked myself out writing it. **

**I have to say, I like writing these happy type stories a lot better...writing dark angst stuff is exhausting. I applaud anyone who can do it. **


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: I know, I haven't updated in forever...I'm sorry! I'll just and update a few times this week. On the bright side, this chapters reeeaalllyyy long. **

Chapter 12:

Quinn sat the dinner table, trying not to imagine picking up a fork and stabbing the man across from her with it.

The man across from, who her mother called "Andy" was going on and on about...well, something. She didn't know what exactly, but she was sure if bothered to listen that it would be extremely boring.

"Quinn, sweety, isn't that facisinating?" Her mother asked, fluttering her eye lashes in "Andy's" direction.

"Oh yes. Please, tell me more." Quinn said, a sickly sweet smiled plastered on her face.

"Andy" continued to talk about whatever it was her mother was pretending to be interested in, and Quinn tried her damnedest not to roll her eyes and sigh heavily. Right now, Kate was at _Chant_, probably having some hysterical conversation with Cam and Matt. She wished she was with them, laughing, having fun...not sitting here, wishing she was dead...or rather, wishing "Andy" was dead.

She bet Marcus was making a fool of himself on stage destroying yet another Katy Perry song. She wondered if Sam and Kurt were there, and if Sam had fixed whatever it was he had been convinced was wrong with him...

But she wasn't with them, because her mother had demanded her presence at dinner. Not because she wanted the company of her daughter, of course, but because she wanted to use her daughter as a show piece to attract Mr. Potential-Suitor-Andy.

"So then I said 'you call that a papaya? More like a squash!'" Andy roared, acting like this was the most hysterical thing in the world. Her mother acted like it was too, laughing so loudly a hyena would have called it obnoxious.

Quinn rolled her eyes. She did not understand why her mother had to do this, go out and meet weirdo men...she had been married once, and now she was divorced. Wasn't it time to call it quits?

And even more than she didn't understand why she mother did it, she really didn't understand why her mother had decided to bring her into it as well.

Torture was the only reason she could think of her. Her mother hated her, and wanted her to suffer.

"And after that I thought, 'enough is enough, I'm just going to take the whole darned turkey!'" Her mother was saying. Quinn couldn't be bothered to listen for context.

20 minutes later, Quinn faked a stomach cramp and spent the rest of her evening lying on her bed, alternating between wishing she was with Kate, and wondering what her mother would say if she knew about her.

Probably nothing good.

She rolled over on her bed and put her hands over her ears to block out the sound of the hyena-rivaling laughter coming from her mother. She was sick of thinking about this stuff. She was sick of talking about this stuff, because it got her no where and sent her right back to thinking. And the more she thought, the more she wanted to talk about it.

It was a vicious circle of suck.

Eventually, she drifted away into a fitful sleep, and dreamt of circles chasing her around viciously, throwing papayas and turkeys at her head.

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Quinn had come to a decision. There would be no more vicious papya dreams. No more angry circles.

She stood outside Kate's door, and re-thought about everything she had been thinking about for the last little while.

1) She didn't know if she wanted to come out.

2) If she did come out, she didn't know what she would even come out as; a lesbian? She'd never been attracted to a girl before. Was she a lesbian?

3) She was afraid. And worried.

She thought about these things, and the answer to all of them swam up in her mind. The answer she'd never wanted to consider. The answer that everyone else seemed to think was obvious. The answer she finally decided she needed to get around to.

Talk to Kate.

It seemed so simple. But Quinn had never just done things the simple way. Being the head of the cheerio's with the big popular jock boyfriend had been simple enough, so she'd complicated it by getting pregnant.

She hadn't even gotten pregnant the simple way; she'd done it with her boyfriend's best friend.

And instead of simply trying to give the baby up for adoption, she'd tried to give it to her Glee Coach's crazy wife so she could pretend it was her baby. And when that hadn't worked out, she'd given the baby the Glee Coach on the opposing team who was actually Rachel's biological mother.

No, Quinn Fabray never did things the simple way. So she thought the fact that she was actually planning on talking to her girlfriend about all her concerns was a pretty huge deal.

Sure, it had taken a long and complicated stream of events involving many soul searching baths, and two brainless football players with hearts of gold to get her there, but she was here now and gosh darnit that would have to be good enough.

"So, I've been standing her for like 2 minutes and I gotta ask, what's with that look on your face?" Kate said, leaning against the door frame. Quinn jumped. She hadn't even realized she'd opened the door.

"Oh, uh….I was thinking." She said, fiddling nervously with the hem of her shirt.

Kate nodded. "I figured it was either that, you had to pee real bad. Come inside."

Quinn went inside, wondering how she was going to approach the subject. Because she totally was. No way she was chickening out. Nope. It was so gonna happen

"Oh, I have something to show you!" Kate said excitedly, running up to her bedroom. Quinn followed apprehensively, wondering what the odds were that what Kate had to show her was something that completely solved all of her problems.

She wandered into the Kate's room, where Kate was excitedly holding up one of her comic books.

So the odds were probably slim.

"Look, look, look!" She squealed. Quinn smiled at Kate's manic enthusiasm and took the comic from her.

It was the finished "Moderna" comic. It was now titled "Moderna VS The MAN!" and now showed Moderna brandishing her pink sword at what looked like a very angry business man is a bowler cap. He had a black cane and was holding it towards Moderna like a sword.

"Cool." Quinn said, flipping through the comic. She couldn't believe that her friends had done this. It looked amazing.

Kate was still smiling widely. "Look at the cover, Quinn."

Quinn flipped back to the front and studied it again. "Notice anything different?" Kate quizzed.

Quinn shook her head. She looked at Moderna. She was the same, smiling blonde woman as before...but then she noticed. Something was different. It was something small...something subtle...but it made a big difference.

"Her face...she doesn't look so Stepford anymore." Quinn said suddenly. While she had originally had a fairly blank, placid smile on her face, Moderna's expression was now full of bite and attitude. She smiled, but her eyes were strong and sure of herself. She knew she was in control.

"Kate...that's amazing, how did you get her to look like that?"

Instead of answering, Kate went over to her drawer and took out a small photograph.

It was a picture of her. Just a snapshot she recognized from her facebook. She was smiling and looking at someone outside of the frame...and she had the exact same expression on her face that Moderna did.

"I couldn't get her face right...I needed some sort of model. I was looking at some of your pictures on facebook one day and you just always have this look in your eye, thats such a contrast to your physical features. You've got this soft, angelic beauty thing going on but that look in your eye...it's strong. It lets everyone know that you are strong. And I thought, 'god, now why can't I draw that?' And then I was like…'well, why not?' So I tried copying your expression and it was like...eureka!"

Quinn was speechless. She looked at Moderna again, unable to believe that that powerful kick ass woman was based on her.

"...Is that weird? Should I have asked? I'm sorry." Kate said nervously, trying to figure out what Quinn's silence meant.

Quinn shook her head. "You...you turned me into a superhero." She said. Kate nodded. "That's freakin awesome!" Quinn said, jumping forward and kissing her. Kate kissed her back and smiled, obviously relieved that she liked it.

"Yeah, after I'd done it I realized how it had totally be staring me in the face the entire time. Like 'hmm, who do I know that is sexy and beautiful in a classic way, but strong and in control as well? Let's see…'" Kate said, pretending to think really hard. Quinn smiled.

"Yeah...but I bet if Moderna had something on her mind, she would have the balls to just talk to her girlfriend about it, instead of obsessing for a month..." Quinn said quietly. Kate looked at her.

"What? What's on your mind?" Kate asked, taking Quinn's hand in hers.

"Well...it's sort of about us. And sort of about me." Quinn said, taking a seat on the edge of Kate's bed. Kate nodded and sat down next to her.

"See...I...well, I'm not a lesbian, Kate. And, I've never been attracted to another girl besides you and I just don't...what does that mean?" Quinn said quickly. Please don't hate me, please don't hate me…

To her relief, Kate smiled. "Quinn, you don't have to be a lesbian."

Quinn blinked. "I don't?"

Kate shook her head. "No. I mean, you could be bi-sexual...or you could just be a Kate-o-sexual..." she said with a laugh. Then she grew quiet. "Or...you could...god it kills me to say this..." Kate looked sadly into her eyes. "You could just be going through a phase..."

Quinn bit her lip. Was she going through a phase?

"But Quinn," she continued. "Whatever this is, you don't need to name it, or call it something. People love naming everything because it makes it simple. And usually, thats a good thing. But sometimes, there isn't a name or a word for something. Like…" Kate searched for a way to explain what she meant to Quinn. "Like, you know when you're so angry, and you're yelling and screaming and you want to tell whoever you're yelling at just how mad you are but you can't come up with the words? That's because sometimes emotions are more complicated than words; deeper then them. Sometimes your sexuality is the same way...so if you can't put it in words, don't try cuz it'll just drive ya nuts." She said with a reassuring smile.

Quinn chewed her lip, thinking over what Kate said. "That seems too easy."

Kate shrugged. "It doesn't have to be hard. Look, we're together now and that's all that matters. Maybe you'll never date another girl after me, maybe you will. It doesn't matter."

"It doesn't?" Quinn asked skeptically.

Kate shook her head. "Whoever you date after me, I'm not gonna like 'em no matter what cuz they aren't me, so their gender really isn't a big issue."

Quinn nodded. "Ok...god you know I have been stressing about this for so long." She smiled, and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Why didn't you just talk to me about it in the first place?" Kate asked, tilting her head to the side. "Since I'm the only actual lesbian you know, I'm probably the foremost authority on the subject."

Well...when she put it like that, it did seem to make a lot of sense.

Quinn pursed her lips and looked at the floor. "I thought you'd be hurt..."

Kate put her hand lightly on Quinn's knee, and squeezed it reassuringly. "Like I said, whether you date only girls after me, or boys and girls, or if I become the only girl special enough to have been in your life, it doesn't matter. You like me, and I like you. Simple, right?"

Quinn laughed, and leaned forward to kiss Kate on her red lips. "I never do things the simple way."

"Well, I think it's time to start." Kate said, and brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. Kate kissed her lightly, and Quinn kissed her back, but stopped when she remembered she had something else to talk about.

"Kate...there's more." She said quickly, biting her lip. Kate sighed.

"Lay it on me."

"Ok, but when I say this, please don't think of it as a reflection of yourself in any way...ok?" She said.

"Ok..." Kate said slowly.

"I don't want them to know." She said. Kate looked at her.

"'Them' who?" She asked.

"Oh, right. The kids at my school." She explained.

"Why would they need to know?" Kate enquired.

"Oh..well...because...um." Quinn thought. Why did they need to know?

"Well, Sam and Kurt are all coming out and stuff...eventually." She said, trying to remember why she'd assumed she was expected to tell people.

"Well, yeah I mean that makes sense. They go to the same school, they see each other every day...it would be exhausting to try and hide it. But we don't go to the same school, and while we don't need to hide anything, we also don't need to broadcast it."

"...we don't?" Quinn said dumbly. She really should have talked to Kate about this a while ago…

"Quinn, sweetie, you need to stop trying to define our relationship by what other people do. You don't need to tell the jerks at your school about jack if you don't want to. From the sounds of it, they would probably just give you a hard time, anyhow..."

Quinn felt relief wash over her. "You understand!" She cried, throwing her arms around her girlfriend.

"Of course I understand." Kate said, confused. She hugged her back anyhow.

"I was worried you'd be mad about wanting to hide our relationship." Quinn said, leaning back from Kate.

"Quinn, I keep telling you, it's not hiding our relationship. We're not hiding from anyone. You're friends know, right?" Quinn nodded. She was pretty sure all her friends knew... "And when we go out we never hide that we're together, right?" Quinn nodded again. She hadn't even thought about hiding it around strangers. "So you're only not telling the people at your school, whose business it is none of anyways."

Quinn thought. "And my mother. I don't want her to know."

"Do you tell your mother a lot of things?"

"I tell her nothing." Quinn said instantly.

"Well, then I won't make you tell her this."

"Good." Quinn said, very pleased with the outcome of this conversation. "Besides, all she cares about is turkeys and papayas."

"...What?"

* * *

Monday was looking to be another boring, average day until around lunch time. For some god-unknown reason, Quinn had decided to sit with the cheerios at lunch.

She had been in a good mood and was feeling energetic and friendly...and was regretting this decision with every fibre of her being.

"No, I told you already." Heather was telling the rest of cheerios. "It's not a chemical. They take a like wand type thing, and they press it against the inner folds, and administer tiny electric shocks."

"Like itty bitty bolts of lightening." Brittany confirmed.

Heather nodded. "Exactly."

"And that makes it keep its shape?" Rebecca asked, awestruck.

"For years." Heather said knowingly. Everyone "ooed" and "awed" and Quinn tried not to vomit in her salad.

"I had it done in 6th grade." Santana said, pretending to examine her nails. "And it still looks perfect."*

Just as Quinn was trying to mentally formulate a reason why she had to leave suddenly, a very distraught Sam dashed quickly past her table, followed by a frantic looking Rachel and a confused as well as upset Finn.

"Whats wrong?" Quinn called after her. Rachel stopped running for a moment and turned to her.

"A bunch of the guys on the football team grabbed Kurt, and punched him in the gut." Rachel said frantically. "They threw him in the dumpster and it was full of slushie...they won't let him get up. He's scared." The second she finished speaking, she rushed out of the cafeteria.

Quinn felt a knot rise in her stomach and she stood up and went to chase after Rachel and Finn. Brittany and Santana followed her lead, and the three of them followed them out into the parking lot to the dumpster.

As they neared the dumpster, Quinn saw Sam draw his arm back and punch Karofsky in the face. Karofsky went down and Sam tried to get Kurt from the dumpster.

Before Sam could him get him out, one of the attackers, Jamie Babbit yanked him backwards and threw him on the ground.

Brittany gasped and grabbed Santana's arm as they watched Jamie kick Sam in the stomach. Finn ran over and shouted for them to leave them alone, trying to help Sam off the ground. Sam was still doubled over, but motioned for Finn to try and get Kurt from the dumpster.

Quinn stood frozen, watching everything happen as though it was in slow motion. She could see Kurt trying to climb out of the dumpster himself, attempting to lift himself out with his small arms, which were covered in red slushie. Before he could, another member of the team, Josh Granell, pushed him back in, only to turn around and have his face meet with Finn's fist.

Karofsky went to attack Finn now, as he tried to help Kurt out of the dumpster, and they all jumped as a loud shriek from Rachel startled them. Rachel had jumped onto Karofsky, and was clinging to his back, pulling his hair and shouting loudly as Karofsky jumped around trying to shake the small girl off.

Jamie and Sam were struggling on the pavement, and Finn ran over to try and help but was stopped by Azimio.

Rachel's shriek had jolted Quinn out of her daze now, and she realized that while everyone was fighting, no one was watching the dumpster. She signaled to Brittany and Santana and they quietly made their way around the fray, past Jamie and Sam punching each other on the ground, Finn and Azimio struggling beside them, Karofsky trying to get rid of Rachel who was still clinging to his back like a spider-monkey, and Josh who seemed to have passed out.

They stood in front of the dumpster, and Santana and Brittany lifted Quinn onto their shoulders to form a small pyramid. Inside the dumpster, Quinn could see a panicked Kurt slipping around in the trash, up to his waist in slushie. She reached in to grab Kurt, hooking her nails into his shirt to get a grip on him, and pulled him out. As he came out of the dumpster, the pyramid toppled over and all four of them fell to the ground.

Quinn heard Sam scream Kurt's name, just as Jamie landed another punch to his jaw. Finn was able to get away from Azimio and went over to help him. Azimio then tried to go after Finn, but tripped and fell to the ground.

"What the?" He said, looking around to try and see what had tripped him. Brittany and Santana smiled, their arms latched firmly around his feet.

Quinn heard another scream from Rachel, as Karofsky finally managed to shake her off. She fell to the ground with a painful thud, and Finn rushed over to help her. Josh had woken up now, and was making his way over to where Finn was holding Rachel in his arms.

Quinn ran over quickly and threw her arms around Josh's waist, tackling him to the ground. He fell over easily, still dazed from Finn's punch and Quinn sat on his chest.

"Get offeme Fabray." Josh growled, twisting about angrily. "Just cuz you're a girl doesn't mean I won't hit you."

Quinn kept her position firmly on his chest, keeping her pressure on his lungs so he wouldn't be able move much. "And just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I won't fuck you up." She replied through gritted teeth.

Sam was helping Kurt now, who seemed to have vomited red slushie everywhere. Sam looked like he was going to cry, and Kurt seemed to be smiling weakly, trying to reassure Sam. Quinn felt her heart break a little for them, and resisted the urge the claw Josh's eyes out.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed behind them."What in Madonna's name is going on here?" Coach Sylvester yelled.

"They gave Kurt a dumpster slushie!" Brittany yelled, still holding onto Azimio's feet.

"They what?" She screeched, looking about wildly.

"Azimio, Jamie, Josh and Karofsky threw Kurt in the dumpster, which they filled with red slushie." Quinn said, sounding much more calm then she felt.

Sue looked stunned and was quiet for a moment as she tried to figure out what to do. "Alright, Neanderthals-" She said, pointing the members of the football team who had done the attacking. "Get you're regressed asses into Principal Figgin's office. Glee Clubbers follow me." She shouted. She watched as everyone picked themselves off the ground, and escorted the football team to Figgin's office, before marching everyone else down to hers.

Outside her office, she stopped and surveyed them. "Who was fighting? And don't lie to me, I can see it on your foreheads." She snapped. Everyone but Kurt raised their hands.

"Quinn, Santana and Brittany didn't fight anyone." Finn said quickly. Quinn and Santana glared at him. "Well you guys didn't. They just got Kurt out of the dumpster."

She looked skeptically at Finn. "Really, because I saw Q sitting on someone's chest. You wanna tell me that's not fighting?"

"She was only sitting on his chest to stop Josh from attacking me again. Brittany and Santana were doing the same with Azimio." He explained.

Sue nodded. "Fine, Cheerio's you can go. The rest of you, come into my office- and no protesting!" She snapped quickly at Quinn and Santana, who had opened their mouths to do just that.

Quinn, Brittany and Santana watched as the rest of them followed Sue into her office, and then the door was shut in their faces.

"Well, I'm way to jumped up to go back to class now." Santana said, her eyebrows raised high with attitude. She looked at Brittany. "Mall?"

Brittany nodded. "I need to buy some new eyeliner...my old one ate itself." She explained to Quinn.

Quinn nodded, deciding now was not the time to try and explain to Brittany how sharpeners worked.

Santana and Brittany walked away, and Quinn sank down on the floor. Like Santana, she didn't think she would be able to handle class right now.

She sat alone in the hallway for a few minutes, wondering if she should just go home, and call Finn later for details, when the door opened and he came out, leading a crying Rachel by the arm.

"What happened? Are you guys in trouble? What's wrong with Rachel?" She asked quickly, getting to her feet.

Finn kept walking down the hall and Quinn followed. "I don't really know what's happening, but it doesn't seem like we're in trouble. Rachel's crying because she thinks its her fault, and I think she's sort of out of it cuz of that whole smashing her head on the ground thing..." Finn said sullenly. "I'm taking her to the nurse."

"Why would it be her fault?" Quinn asked, walking along side Finn.

"Well, last Friday Jamie tried to slushie Kurt again and Rachel tripped him and the slushie went all over Jamie and not Kurt, and apparently Jamie was super PO'd."

"He said Kurt would pay." Rachel sniffed. "I just wanted to help."

"It's not your fault, Rachel. Those guys are assholes." Quinn said automatically. Rachel looked at her sharply.

"Don't be nice to me Quinn." She said. Quinn raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Rachel, come on..." Finn said quietly. They were outside of the nurses office now. Finn knocked on the door and the school nurse, Nurse Peyton, opened the door.

"What's wrong?" Nurse Peyton said, looking at Rachel. Finn explained about her bumping her head, and Rachel went into her office for examination. She made Finn and Quinn stay outside.

Once the door to Nurse Peyton's office had been shut, Quinn turned to Finn.

"Why does she not want me to be nice to her?" Quinn asked. Finn sighed.

"She has the weird idea that we're..ya know...doing something. Like, behind her back." He mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"What?" Quinn asked sharply. How could Rachel think that?

Finn shrugged. "Well, we've been spending a lot more time together and stuff and she's always been super jealous of you."

A year ago, Quinn would have that made perfect sense. Of course Rachel would have been jealous of her, she'd had everything and Rachel had had nothing. But now? Rachel had finally found herself a group of (sort of) friends, the boy she'd been in love with was her boyfriend and since Quinn thought that actually had a good shot at Regionals this year, her singing career was finally starting to spark.

Quinn, on the other hand, had gotten pregnant, been humiliated and shoved from the top of the social ladder, she'd lost her boyfriend and everything she'd thought she'd known had been turned upside down.

What the hell did Rachel have to be jealous of?

"What the hell does Rachel have to be jealous of?" She asked.

"Um, you're spending a lot of time with me, and she thinks that cuz of our history and all and cuz your super hot that if you wanted me back then there's no way she could compete."

"Does she not remember that whole thing where I cheated on and broke your heart? Why would you take me back?" Quinn asked. "And, hello, I'm with someone. Like, a girl someone."

"Yeah, I guess cuz we've been hanging out she figures I'm over the whole baby/cheating thing...which, I guess I sort of am." Finn said, surprised. "I mean, who even talks about that anymore? Have you and Puck even had like two conversation this year?"

"No, why would we?" She asked, confused. She didn't have anything to do with Puck...besides the whole baby thing of course. But Finn was right...that was so last season.

"I dunno. And Rachel doesn't know about Kate." Finn reminded her. "To her, it just seems like you're all happy and nice and cool for no reason all of a sudden, and hanging out with me."

"Yeah, because I want into your big jock pants, right?" Quinn said sarcastically.

"Oh." Rachel said, standing in the now open doorway of Nurse Peyton's office. She looked hurt.

"Oh god, Rachel no she didn't mean that!" Finn said quickly, stepping forward to try and hug her. Rachel jerked away and ran into the girl's washroom.

Without thinking, Quinn ran after her.

"Rachel, you heard that out of a very important context. I was being sarcastic." Quinn explained, trying to figure out which stall Rachel was hiding in.

"Go away!" Rachel shouted, from the last stall on the left. Quinn walked over and stood outside it.

"Rachel come on, I am not at all interested in Finn." She insisted. God where had all this drama come from?

"Sure you are!" Rachel shouted, her voice muffled with tears. "You want you're old life back and that includes Finn!"

"Rachel...I don't want my old life back. I want a new life, one where I'm happy." She mumbled.

"Too bad, you can't have Finn!" She cried. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"I said, I don't want Finn..." Quinn seethed. She closed her eyes, unable to believe what she was about to do. "Rachel...god...I'm dating someone right now. And her name is Kate." She said quickly, her eyes shut tight. Why had she done that, why?

"You're what?" Rachel said, banging open the bathroom door and staring at her.

"I'm dating a girl." She said simply, looking Rachel in her wide, shocked eyed.

"You're gay?" Rachel asked.

Quinn shrugged. "I dunno...maybe, I guess. I don't want to label my sexuality." She said haughtily.

Rachel nodded, no sign of her tears left. "My gay jewish Dads say that labels place unnecessary barriers on people's lives." She smiled. "I accept you, Quinn."

"Thanks Rachel." Quinn said dryly. Although, if she had to admit, Rachel's nonchalance was a little comforting. "And you have to believe me, even if I wasn't...with Kate, there would be nothing going on with me and Finn. He's in love with someone else right now." She said agreeably.

Rachel's eyes flashed about angrily. "Who?" She growled. "Oh...me."

* * *

***I have no idea what they are talking about...and I don't want to know.**

**A/N: Lots of drama in this chapter, but basically it was all solved here (finally) because I'm getting sick of drama! Now we can move on to something happier. **


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

**Yeah, ok...Wow. I am like really, really sorry….but I got super bad writers block, and then school sucked up my life and well...I'm just sorry.**

**So, for anyone reading "Everything" this is like a month in the past...which I dislike, but I'm not just write a whole month in one chapter, just to catch up.**

* * *

That evening, Quinn lay on her floor, thinking about the slushie attack. That was so fucked up. That was like...another level of evil. And gross. And if there was anyway to make evil even eviler, it was to make it gross. She felt awful, wishing she could do something...Sam had looked so...sad didn't begin to cover it. Broken, maybe. Broken was closer.

It was awful. What was worse was how she just kept thinking about how glad she was that no one knew about her and Kate. Maybe that made her a coward, but after what she'd seen today, she didn't think anyone could call her cowardice unjustified.

Her phone chimed shrilly, playing the whimsical little tune that Kate had programmed it to make when she sent her a text message. She reached over and looked at the phone for a moment, before silently praying that the message contained something that would cheer her up.

**I have the worlds MEGA BEST FREAKIN AWESOME idea to cheer everyone up after what sounds like a hell-fuck of a day :D coming to pick you up five minutes ago, be there in 20. Wear something cute.**

Quinn smiled, feeling a weird, happy feeling in her gut. Kate was just so..._perfect_. She had the weirdest ability to make her feel better about everything. The world sucked, but Kate always found something to make it seem ok again.

A wide grin on her face, Quinn sent a reply back.

**Why, yes, I would love to go out on a school night to some undisclosed location. Thanks for asking, super considerate. ;P**

Quinn got dressed as she waited for a reply, picking out something she hoped Kate would deem "cute". She was buttoning up her peasant blouse when the phone chimed with Kate's reply.

**Np shuga bear :D**

As promised, Kate showed up 20 minutes later. "Hey shuga bear." Kate said, getting out and opening the door for her.

Quinn smiled and waited until they were inside the car to give her a kiss hello. She also pulled her into a tight hug, squeezing for much longer than was normal. "Sorry." Quinn said, settling down in her own seat and buckling up.

"So'k." Kate said, beaming. "What was that for?"

Quinn shrugged. "Just for being you, I guess." She sighed. "Today really was a hell-fuck."

Kate giggled. "Swear word sounds weird coming from pretty girl's mouth."

"You have such a way with words, Kate dear." Quinn said, rolling her eyes.

"Fo shizzle ma Quizzle." Kate said, turning the car on and pulling out of Quinn's driveway. Quinn just shook her head.

"So, what exactly happened today? Your text messages weren't exactly big on details." She asked.

Quinn sighed and began explaining the events of the day to her, starting with Rachel running past her at lunch, and ending with her coming out to Rachel in the washroom.

"Wait, what?" Kate asked, staring at her.

"I told her I was with you, a girl." She said simply. Kate continued to gape. "Kate, watch the friggin road!" She gasped, as the car swerved a little. Kate snapped her head back, turning the wheel quickly.

"Sorry, sorry..." Kate said quickly. "I just...wow, Quinn. That's big. That's..." She grew quiet, and Quinn furrowed her brow. She had been pretty sure Kate was going to be ecstatic when she heard.

"Um, I thought you'd be happy..." Quinn mumbled, frowning. _Women._

They stopped at a red light, and Kate sighed. "I am, happy Quinn. I'm like, really happy. But I just told you I didn't care if you came out to anyone, so I'm worried that if I get all excited about you coming to Rachel, it'll be sending mixed signals."

Quinn smiled, and pulled Kate towards her a little, kissing her on the forehead. "You can be excited Kate. I know it doesn't mean you weren't telling the truth about not caring if I came out or not."

"Really?" Kate asked, her eyes wide.

Quinn nodded. "Really." Kate squealed excitedly and did a little happy dance, and Quinn laughed. "You're adorable when your being such a girl."

Kate giggled and shrugged. "I am what I is." She said simply.

"I very much like what you is." Quinn said, smiling. Kate grinned back at her.

"I very much like what you is, too." She said, leaning forward and kissing her softly. Quinn kissed her back, but pulled her head back after a moment.

"Kate?" She said in a breathy voice.

"Yeah?"

"The light's green."

"What? Oh!" Kate said, turning back to the wheel and driving forward as someone honked angrily.

Quinn laughed. "You're an awful driver."

They drove for a few more minutes until they were in a neighborhood Quinn didn't recognize. "Where are we?" She asked, looking at the unfamiliar houses.

"Going to pick up Rachel." Kate said.

"What?" Quinn asked, her eyes wide. "Why?"

Kate shrugged. "Didn't you say she was involved in everything that happened?"

"Yeah..." Quinn muttered.

"And didn't she get like a concussion in the line of duty?" She asked.

"Yeah..."

"So don't you think she could also benefit from a night of Kate-sanctioned funness?" She continued, raising her eyebrows in that "You know I'm right" way.

"...yeah" Quinn mumbled, looking away.

They pulled up to Rachel's house, and Quinn saw that she was already waiting on the curb for them, bouncing up and down excitedly. Kate unlocked the doors for her, and Rachel climbed in.

"Hi guys!" Rachel said excitedly, taking a seat in the middle section of the van. "Where exactly are we going?"

Quinn opened her mouth to tell her, but then realized that she didn't actually know. "That's a good question." She said.

"It's a club. It's called 'A Shook Up World.'" Kate said simply.

Quinn looked at her. "And?"

"And what?"

"And what kind of club with this? Does it have some sort of weird theme, like the future and everyone dresses in mylar? Is it underwater? Do you have to be dressed as a clown to get in?" Quinn asked.

"Yes, everything you just said." Kate said.

"I don't have any mylar or clown apparel..." Rachel said worriedly.

"Kate-"

"Why do you assume that there's something weird about this club?" Kate asked innocently.

Quinn looked at her. "Because you never go anywhere normal."

Kate opened her mouth to protest, but then shrugged. "Good point. But this place is just a regular club...for gay people." She said innocently.

"Huh..." Quinn said thoughtfully. "That's a good idea, actually. After what happened today, I bet Sam and Kurt are in need of a little acceptance."

Kate beamed. "Exactly what I was thinking."

"I still can't believe they did that..." Rachel said quietly. "It was so...god. It was awful..."

"I can imagine." Kate said quietly.

Quinn placed her hand on Kate's thigh and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Having learnt her lesson from before, Kate kept her eyes on the road, but Quinn saw her smile a little.

"This is Kurt's street." Rachel said, and Kate turned the car onto it.

"Does he know we're coming?" Quinn asked, worried that Kate had thought an ambush would be more fun.

"I sent him a text telling him I was kidnapping him for fun tonight, and to dress sexy." Kate said, undoing her seatbelt.

"How come you told him to dress sexy, but told me to dress cute?" Quinn asked, scrunching up her nose.

"Because cute is sexy on you." Kate said simply, exiting the car. Quinn smiled a little and got out as well.

"You didn't tell me to dress any way in particular." Rachel said with a frown, looking down at her purple polka dotted skirt and black turtleneck.

"That's because I love the way you dress." Kate said, and knocked on Kurt's door. Kurt opened the door, and Kate frowned at him. "How is that dressing sexy?" She asked, looking over his blue sweater vest and grey skinny jeans.

"These are the tightest pants I own." Kurt said defensively.

Kate shook her head. "You can do better than that, Hummel." She said, pushing her way past him. "Take me to wear you keep your clothes."

"I don't really want you anywhere near my clothes." Kurt said, folding his arms across his chest.

"I'll show you." Rachel said, brushing past Kurt and leading Kate upstairs. Quinn patted Kurt sympathetically on the shoulder, and they followed Rachel and Kate upstairs.

"Huh." Kate said, looking at Kurt's closet. "I dunno, I was expecting something a bit more extravagant...some lights, a spinning rack...perhaps a fountain."

"Nope, just a closet." Kurt said snidely.

Quinn smiled, watching Kate root through Kurt's clothes, growing frustrated with the chic, stylish items. Eventually she found a semi-distressed pair of black ("they're charcoal" Kurt informed them, his nose up in the air) skinny jeans, and a striped polo shirt that seemed to be acceptable.

"And I have a brilliant leather jacket in the car that will be too sexy for words on you." She said, pulling off her studded belt and sliding it around Kurt's waist, while he raised his hands up and looked shocked (possibly because a girl was touching him).

"Now your hair-" Kate began.

"What's wrong with my hair?" Kurt growled.

"Nothing, but it doesn't go with the new look. We need to make it...I don't know...grungier." Kate instructed. With a pained sigh, Kurt retreated into his washroom and Kate followed, shutting the door behind them.

"I'm going to get Finn." Rachel said, turning and leaving Kurt's room. Quinn took the opportunity to look around Kurt's room. It was very neat, and very simply and elegantly decorated.

She wandered over to the small TV set in the corner, where she found a worn copy of "The Last Man on Earth" and "Children of Men". She guessed they were Sam's.

Next to the TV was a dresser, with two pictures on it. One was of a smiling, laughing women with Kurt's bright eyes, and another was a picture of him and Sam in an elegant wooden frame.

She picked up the frame, looking closely at the picture inside. Kurt was looking directly at the camera, smiling and laughing in a way she'd never seen him smile or laugh in real life. Sam had his face turned away, and was pressing a kiss to Kurt's cheek. She bit her lip a little, thinking about what had happened to them today, and feeling nauseous. How could people have a problem with this?

"Kate, that's enough hairspray!" She heard Kurt cry, and a moment later he threw open the bathroom door, coughing. His hair was spiked up now, and messier looking.

"Well if you want to keep the sex-hair look all night, you need a lot." Kate said, shrugging. Quinn smiled, and set the picture back down. In about 10 minutes Kate had turned Kurt from well-kept demur chic to grunge sex-god. It was impressive.

"Hey, Kurt you look wicked." Finn said, appearing in the doorway with Rachel. "Cool belt."

"It's hers." Kurt said, looking at his hair in his mirror.

"Shall we be going?" Kate asked, skipping out of Kurt's room. Kurt rolled his eyes and followed her outside.

After they picked up Sam (who it would appear Kate had not felt the need to inform that they were coming, and was extremely confused to find them all standing on his doorstep. However, he may have just been distracted by how dead sexy Kurt looked in Kate's leather jacket) they drove to the club and filed inside (after a few minor protests from Sam when he realized it was a gay bar. Kate explained that it worked out well then, since he was a gay dude).

Quinn had to admit, she wasn't entirely impressed by "A Shook Up World". It was basically like any other middle-class club and bar out there, just with way more tacky rainbow decor. And, you know...gay people. However, seeing the smile spread on Kurt's face as he looked around, and grabbed Sam to lead him onto the dance floor definitely boosted her opinion of the place.

Kate grabbed her hand as well and they went over to the dance floor together. Kate immediately started doing the worlds dorkiest dance moves from the 80's, including the robot and the running man.

Quinn smiled and shook her head. "You're dancing wrong, sweetheart." She said, and Kate scoffed at her.

"I'm dancing awesome." She declared, swinging her arms around like a spaz.

Quinn laughed and pulled Kate closer to her, so their bodies we're touching as they danced. Quinn moved her hips against Kate's, keeping in time with the fast music. "This is how your supposed to dance."

Kate was uncharacteristically quiet as Quinn moved one leg between hers, and slid down and up again against her.

"Well?" Quinn asked, placing her hands on Kate's shoulders to force her to move a little.

"You're right, I know nothing. Teach me, oh mega-sexy-dancer-girl." Kate deadpanned, and Quinn laughed. The songs changed, and the one that came on was slow and soft. Kate wrapped her arms around her waist, and Quinn put her arms over Kate's shoulders.

A little bit away from them, Kurt rested his head against Sam's shoulder, and Sam held Kurt tightly as they moved as little as possible to the slow music.

Quinn looked around at all the same sex couples, dancing, laughing and flirting with each other. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all...there was a calm, non-judgmental feel to it that made Quinn feel oddly at peace. She'd spent so much time feeling out of place and unsure lately, it was nice to know there was a place out there where she could just be...accepted.

Quinn placed her lips over Kate's as they swayed lightly. "Thank you." She whispered. Her lips were still against Kate's, and she could feel Kate's curve into a smile.

"For what?" Kate whispered back, lifting her arm up and brushing away a piece of Quinn's long blond hair.

"This. Everything. For just...being there for me, and being you." She said, and deepend the kiss. Kate kissed her back, her lips strong but never forceful. Quinn pulled back and looked at Kate, wondering if she really understood how great she made her feel. Kate smiled coyly at her, and leaned in, pressing their foreheads together as they danced. Quinn moved her head down, and rested it on Kate's shoulder. She laughed when she looked over and saw Sam and Kurt practically eating each others faces now. She wondered if they realized they were in public.

"And thanks for them, too." Quinn giggled, lifting her head back up. "They needed a place like this tonight."

Kate smiled at Sam and Kurt "Think we should go remind them that they're in public?" She asked. Quinn nodded, and they danced a little over to where their friends were sticking their tongue's down each other's throats.

"Um, we've been receiving hotness complaints about two guys who won't stop eating each other's faces on the dance floor." Kate said. She grinned, spotting another couple making out a little behind them. "Have you seen them? Oh wait, their behind you." She said, pointing to the others.

Sam stuck his tongue out her. "Well, I've been hearing complaints about a cheerleader and wanna-be punk engaging in sickly amounts of eye-yuri on the dance floor." He replied, and Kurt giggled.

Quinn frowned. _What the hell is eye-yuri?_ It sounded like some sort of infectious disease. Gross.

Kate however seemed to understand what Sam was saying. "You know yuri?" She asked, confusing Quinn even more. Was Yuri a person?

"I was very into yuri before I discovered yaoi." Sam said, nodding. He smiled down at Kurt. "They don't compare."

Well, she knew yaoi, though it never failed to confuse her that one of her lesbian girlfriend's favorite past times was watching boys make out...but she guessed that was just part of her Kateness. Perhaps yuri was the girl version of yaoi.

Kate nodded at Sam, and turned to her. "Total chocolate milk drinker." She said, shrugging. Quinn giggled a little at the inside joke, and the confused look on Sam's face, and they danced away.

"Yuri is 'girls love' by the way." Kate informed her. Quinn grinned, proud of her deciphering skills.

"I know." She said simply, and Kate smiled at her. The song ended, and another fast and loud one started.

Eventually Kate got the hand of dancing like a normal person, and it turned out she was actually an extremely sexy dancer. Quinn wondered if she'd been too quick to condemn Sam and Kurt for their passionate public display of affection, because she was having a hard time not doing the same thing to Kate as she watched she shake her head back and forth, whipping her long black hair around her.

The night ended when Sam and Kurt came out of the bathroom together, looking extremely disgruntled.

"Someone just sneezed on me, and I need to shower like now." Kurt hissed, stalking stiffly out of the club.

"What we're you doing in the bathroom together, for so long?" Finn asked, following them out. The moment the words were out of his mouth, a look of sudden realized dawned on his face. "Never mind." He mumbled.

"It's all right Kurt baby, we'll getcha home." Kate said, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Everything will be fine."

* * *

Kurt wasn't at school for the rest of the week.

Quinn found out from Sam on Tuesday afternoon that he was home sick, having caught a cold from what Sam refereed to as "a blue haired cock blocking piece of sneezing shit". The rest of the school, however, assumed the worst.

"I heard Karofsky and Azimio went to his house at night and shaved his head, and he's too ashamed to come to school." Quinn heard two members of the chess team whisper in the hallways.

"He has a cold." Quinn snapped at them. They just stared at her for a moment, before "eeping" and running away. Quinn rolled her eyes.

The chess team wasn't the only one whispering their own theories about why Kurt was absent. The most popular theories involving Karofsky, or someone else who'd been involved in the slushie attack, putting Kurt in the hospital.

"It's so sad, he won't even speak. He just types everything on his lap top." Rachel said to Brittany and Santana at lunch time.

"Sometimes when I get cold, my teeth dance." Brittany said, nodding.

"He's not cold, Brittany. He has a cold." Sam said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Sam." Heather said, sauntering over to their table. She licked her lips, looking him over. "Where's Kurt?" She asked, pouting. "You guys are usually together, and I haven't seen him all day." Quinn rolled her eyes.

"He has a cold." Quinn said before Sam could respond.

"A bad cold." Sam insisted. "With a fever and sore throat, and everything."

"Oh, that's terrible!" Heather said, looking just _so incredibly concerned_. Quinn fought back the urge to punch her. "Well, when he gets better...maybe you and I could get together...with him." She asked, raising her eyebrows seductively. She winked at him and walked away slowly, with Sam gaping after her.

"Did she just...imply that she wanted to have a threesome?" Sam asked, his eyes wide. "Did that just happen?"

"Try not to let it go to your head." Quinn mumbled.

Sam grinned. "She wants to have a threesome."

"You're not seriously considering it, are you?" Rachel asked.

"What?" Sam asked, shocked. "Oh gross, no!" he said, looking mildly revolted. "But still, the offer is very flattering."

"I feel exceedingly conflicted about this." Finn mused. "Part of my wants to be like 'dude, high five' because a cheerleader wanting to have a threesome with you is call for high fivage...but the other part of me is super grossed out, because we're talking about my brother."

"I get that." Sam said, nodding.

"Um, what the hell?" Santana asked staring around at them. "Finn just used the words 'exceedingly' and 'conflicted' in a sentence, and he used them correctly."

"So?" Brittany said, shrugging.

"So...it's Finn." Santana said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I got him a Word of the Day calendar." Rachel said, squeezing Finn's arm and grinning at him.

"Kurt has a personal vendetta against it." Sam informed them.

"Vendetta. Noun. A prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone." Finn recited. "That was last Thursdays word."

Santana looked at Sam, an unimpressed look on her face. "I can see why."

On Wednesday, Sam decided to throw gasoline on the rumor-burning-stove that was their school, and wear a shirt that said "Save Kurt" on it.

"Like 'Save Ferris'. Get it?" Sam asked. Quinn reached up and smacked him on the head. "Ow! What the hell, Quinn?"

"Everyone already thinks Karofsky put him in the hospital!" Quinn hissed. Sam rubbed his head, pouting at her. She sighed. Pouting Sam was too impossible to remain angry at. It was the big lips, she was sure of it. "I'm sorry for hitting you, OK?" She said.

"So'k..." He mumbled, turning to his locker and taking out some books.

"But this is just going to fuel the rumors, you realize that right?" She asked, and their made their way to class.

Sam shrugged. "I don't mind. It's nice knowing that people care."

Quinn wondered if Sam was purposefully trying to make people think something worse had happened to Kurt. Honestly, she couldn't blame him. After all the hate the two of them had been getting, people were finally showing some concern. She knew that as strong as Sam liked to pretend he was about everything that was happening, inside he missed the comforting accepted feeling that came with being popular. A feeling he'd basically chosen to abandon when he'd chosen Kurt.

Quinn grimaced at her own thought, knowing it wasn't true. Sam hadn't chosen any of this, she knew that. He'd never even chosen Kurt, not really. Life had chosen for them, just like it'd chosen for Kate and now...herself, she guessed.

Life was such a bitch.

Friday afternoon, she and Mercedes met up with Kate and went to visit Kurt.

"Apparently, Kurt wanted to go to school today, but Sam and his Dad insisted he stay home, just in case. He was not pleased." Kate informed them from the back seat.

"How do you know this?" Mercedes asked, raising her eyebrows. Quinn smiled. Someone was jealous.

"He was texting me every five minutes." Kate said shrugging. "Poor boy was so bored, he colour coded his sock drawer."

"You could do with a colour coded sock drawer." Quinn said, smiling. "Maybe that way you wouldn't wind up with one navy sock and one black sock."

Quinn saw Kate roll her eyes in the rear view mirror. "I still don't know how you noticed that."

When they got to Kurt's house, Sam opened the door. "Hey!" He said, smiling brightly. He ushered them in, and gave Kate a one armed hug. "It's good you came, he'll be psyched to see anyone that isn't me." He said, leading them to wear Kurt lay on a couch in the living room. He had a blanket on his lap, and despite a slightly red nose and messier than usual hair, looked ok.

"That's not true, Sam." Kurt said, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend. "I'm not bored of you, I'm just bored of...everything."

"Am I not part of everything?" Sam asked, taking a seat on the edge of the couch.

"Not the everything I'm bored of." Kurt replied, patting Sam reassuringly on the shoulder.

"I accept your logic as infallible." Sam said, beaming. He leaned in and gave Kurt a quick peck on the lips.

"Should you be doing that?" Quinn asked, standing hesitantly away from Kurt. Sure he looked ok, but he could still be contagious...colds were sneaky like that.

Sam shrugged. "I've been with him all week, so I'm fairly sure I'm immune to whatever he's got by now."

"I don't think that's how things work." Mercedes said, going over and hugging Kurt tightly.

"Sure it does. Lover conquers all, and is the best medicine." Kate recited, ruffling Kurt's hair. "How do you feel?" She asked.

"Well, my head no longer feels like a balloon, and I can speak, so it's a vast improvement from earlier in the week." Kurt said.

"Everyone's been really worried about you, at school." Quinn informed him, sitting on the couches arm chair.

"I know. I've seen the 'Save Kurt' shirt." Kurt said, shooting Sam a look.

"Heh...rhyme." Kate giggled. Quinn smiled at her, shaking her head.

Kate beamed back at her, and Quinn reached over and tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ear. Maybe life was ok, sometimes.

* * *

**A/N: I really promise to update much more regularly! I have an actual idea of where things are going now! Yay...**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

**A reminder of the things that have happened, that you've probably forgotten about because I am the worst person ever:**

**-Quinn had a big talk with Kate and is finally settling into a stable relationship with her**

**-Quinn also came out to Rachel, who was thrilled that she was not cheating with Finn**

**-A group of football players attacked Kurt and threw him in the dumpster. They're going to have a trial to decide how to punish them. **

**-Kurt didn't go to school for the rest of the week because he caught a cold, and everyone in the school assumed he was in the hospital. They were concerned, and it was nice.**

**-Quinn's mother is dating someone named Andy, and Quinn dislikes him. And her mother, in general.**

**From the Diary of Quinn Fabray**

Dear Diary,

So, alright remember like a month or so ago when I promised myself I was going to start writing in this diary on a regular basis?

I don't know why I thought I could do that. I am not at all a diary person. I prefer to live life, as opposed to write about it. You're probably wondering why I try to keep a diary at all then- well, no. You're not. You're a diary. You're not wondering anything.

_I'm_ wondering. Frankly, I haven't the slightest idea why but something in me just feels I should have some sort of concrete collection of events for when I'm old and grey. But not wrinkly, shrunken-Grammy old-and-grey. I plan to be a regal, dignified elderly person, like Julie Andrews.

A lot has happened since the last time I updated. Not in my life, really, but in the lives of those around me. Which I suppose can be considered my life as well, because said people do tend to involve me in what ever is currently happening in those lives. Especially those people who are named Sam "I need drama like normal people need oxygen" Evans.

No, that's unfair. I know Sam doesn't create problems on purpose, but you can't deny that he tends to get punched in the face a lot more then most people. I feel like at least some of that has _got _to be his own doing, right?

What wondrous trouble have Sam and his attatched-at-the-wrist life partner Kurt "Born into Designer Diapers" Hummel gotten into lately, you might ask (no, you don't. Because you're a diary. But let's pretend).

A few weeks ago, Sam came 'out' in the most obnixious and socially damaging way possible- not that I care about that sort of thing. Of course not. I'm above that now.

But still, grabbing Kurt in the middle of the hallway, shoving him against the lockers and giving an intensely passionate kiss was _not _the best way to handle the situation (Not that I was there. I just saw the picture Heather was kind enough to take and send to _everyone_).

And another thing; he didn't even _tell _me he was planning on coming out! Well, alright he did sort of. He told me he wanted to do it before he had to face Karofsky and company in school court for the the dumpster slushie incident, just in case his relationship with Kurt was something that came up. Still, some other mention of it would have been nice. A phone call, text-message, smoke signal or something to let me know. But no. He just did it like it was no big deal. Can you believe that, after all I've done for them. The nerve. I just- it was annoying.

But moving on.

Regionals is coming up, and absolutely no one can decide what we should sing. Rachel came up with an plan that Mr. Schue seems intent on following, but I'm sure something will come up at the last second and we'll need to completely restructure everything.

Until that happens, we're looking for three different songs from three different decades, all of which need to be anthems. Am I the only one who thinks that's a stupid theme? Could have they picked something vaguer? Literally you could pick any song and say "it's my personal anthem" and they couldn't dispute you. Anthem. Stupid.

More drama in the lives of the gaynamic-duo occured when we went to the mall to try and find some ideas for songs to sing in FYE. Long story short, we ran into Karofsky and Azimio and Sam got punched in the face again. This time it really was his fault. He started making fun of Karofsky, saying he had a thing for Kurt and Karofsky completely lost it and _wham _because apparently, he really is gay and had a thing for Kurt!

Who knew?

I'm beginning to think there's actually a lot more gay kids in our school then I originally thought. It's kind of comforting, to think so.

Lord knows I could use some comforting thinking lately, with everything that's going on. Besides Sam and Kurt's usual drama, last week I got a call from Kate, and she was crying. Her friend Matt...well...I'm not going to write about it, really, because it's not the type of thing I would particularly like to remember when I'm old and grey...

* * *

It had been a Saturday afternoon, when she'd gotten the tearful phone call from Kate. She'd answered it expecting to hear her girlfriend's usual bubbling voice. Hearing the tears coming from the other end had been more than alarming.

"Kate? Katie what's wrong?" Quinn asked, standing up. "Are you alright?"

Kate sniffed, and took a deep breath before answering. "I'm _fine. _But it's _Matt_. I- he's-it's-"

It only took Kate about 10 seconds before she was able to finish her sentence, but in that time roughly 394 different scenarios flashed through Quinn's mind, each centring around catastrophe, death, mutilation and other things she wasn't willing to process on a conscious level.

"-it's _awful_." She sobbed.

"Is he ok? Please say he's ok." She asked, grabbing her jacket from the closet and looking around for her car keys. Why did she never put them in the same place? She always used to. On the table by the front door, she used to always put them there and now she couldn't remember if she had.

"He's ok, I guess. We just got back from the hospital, I mean they let him go fast but it's..."

Quinn's heart ached a little, hearing Kate once again break down into tears. In a last ditch effort to find her keys, she decided to look on the table by the door.

The keys were there.

Of course.

"I just- I don't know what to do- I don't know what happened. He's not _saying _anything..."

"Kate, I'm on my way alright?" She said, running out the door.

"O-kay." Kate said with a sniff.

Quinn was pretty sure she broke about 4 road laws getting there. She sped, she ran stop signs, when she got to a yellow light she sped up instead of slowing down and well she was sure there was something else she'd done wrong.

When she got to Kate's house, the door was opened by a guy whom Quinn recognized as Kate's brother, Joss. He was in his early 20's, she knew, and had a lip piercing and Kate's dark eyes.

He gave her a small smile. "Hey, you must be Quinn." He said, standing back to let her in. She nodded, brushing past him and taking off her coat.

"They're just in the living room." He said, taking her jacket and hanging it up in the closet.

She nodded, and walked quickly through the hallway to the living room, where she found Matt sitting on the floor with his knees up in front of his face. Kate was sitting next to him with her arm around his shoulders. She looked up when Quinn came into the room and despite her red eyes and the tears on her face, smiled.

"Hey." Quinn said quietly, kneeling down in front of Matt. He gave no sign of acknowledgment, and Quinn glanced at Kate, and silently asked her what happened.

"I don't know." Kate mouthed back, shrugging her shoulders for added effect. "He's not talking."

Quinn bit her lip, and placed her hand gently on Matt's shoulder. "Matt?" She said quietly. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Slowly, Matt looked up at her, and Quinn jerked her hand away in surprise. Almost half of his face was covered by a gruesome black and blue bruise, which spread out from his eye. "Oh my god..."

"It feels worse then it looks." He said dully.

"Matty please," Kate said, sounding desperate. Quinn reached over and put her hand on Kate's knee, squeezing a bit. "Please tell us what happened."

Matt just shrugged in reply, bowing his head back down a bit. His shoulders stiffened suddenly, and he looked back up at Quinn. "What the fuck are you wearing?" He asked, his one good eye narrowing angrily.

Quinn glanced down at her outfit- a light blue dress and matching cardigan, and gave a confused shrug. "I don't know- it's just a dress?"

"Not your _clothes._" Matt growled. He reached forward and yanked off the silver cross she was wearing around her neck, holding it up angrily in front of her face. "_This._"

"Hey!" Quinn said, touching her throat in shock.

Kate stared at her friend in disbelief. "Matt!"

"You want to know what happened?" He asked. He shook the cross necklace at them. "_This _happened."

"A crucifix?" Cam asked, coming into the living room from where he'd been in the kitchen.

"No, _God_." Matt spat, tossing the necklace away. Quinn felt a little stab of panic. _Crosses were not meant to be tossed! _

"_God happened._"

"How is this God's fault?" Quinn asked, forcing her tone to stay even.

"Because! You know why he did this?" Matt asked, gesturing to his face.

"Who's 'he,' Matt." Cam asked. "Who did this?"

"My uncle. Who else?" Matt said in an ugly voice. "He did this because God _told _him too. God _hates _me, so _he _hates me too. They _both _hate me."

"God doesn't hate you, Matt." She said quietly.

His eyes- or, his eye- flashed angrily at her. "Bull-fucking-shit he doesn't hate me!" He screamed. "Leviticus 18:22, '_Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind.'_" Matt recited, tears beginning to roll slowly down his cheeks. "'_It is abomination.'_"

"Oh fuck what those bible-thumping morons think!" Kate cried. Quinn coughed a little, and Kate shot her an apologetic look. "I don't mean you. You're not a moron."

"Kate, that's not what 'bible-thumping morons' think. That's the _bible._" Matt said.

"Actually it's a holiness code from the Book of Levitcus." Quinn said. "One that's widely considered to be outdated, and no longer relevant in modern times."

Matt just looked at her for a moment, before bursting into tears. Kate and Cam instantly wrapped their arms around him.

"Still not talking?" Joss asked, coming into the room and taking a seat on the couch.

"We've gotten a bit from him, but we still don't know what happened." Quinn said.

"What happened is I'm a fucking _whore._" Matt spat, lifting his head up.

"Hey now," Cam said, brushing a piece of Matt's tangled hair off his forehead. "When you say stuff like that, you demean the honest efforts of all the real hard-working whores out there, and that's not cool."

Matt glared at him, and Cam smiled and kissed him on his forehead. "I'm going to go check on the brownies." He said, standing up. He turned to Kate and Quinn. "You two get him up and into the kitchen, where he's going to sit down and tell us all about what happened."

"Am fucking not." Matt mumbled. Cam, however, had already walked out of the room.

"Look, if it makes you feel better we can eat a lot more brownies then we should, and you can be angry about how much more brownies we have then you and take our brownies from us, then gloat over all your brownies while taking a nap." Quinn said, patting Matt on the shoulder. "That's gluttony, wrath, envy, greed, pride and sloth all at once."

"What about lust?" Matt asked in a monotone voice. "That's the best one."

Quinn thought. "We can objectify Cam while we eat."

Matt's lips twitched into what could have possibly been a smile. "Alright." He said, getting to his feet.

* * *

They sat around Kate's kitchen table, picking at the brownies (which were apparently the only thing Cameron could bake or cook without destroying the stove) and waiting for Matt to tell them what happened.

"They were supposed to be gone all day." He said eventually. He kept his head down as he spoke, slumped forward over the table. "I invited Johnny over...we were- _I _was-" He swallowed, his shoulders shaking a bit as he tried not to cry. "I was going down on him, and they w-walked in." He bit down on his lip, tears once again rolling down his cheeks. "He, my uncle, he ripped Johnny o-off me and s-started _kicking _him." He put his hand against his face, trying to stop the tears. "I tried to pull him off b-but he hit me away."

"Shit." Joss said.

Cam went to kneel next to his friend, putting his arm over his shoulders. "Sshh, it's gonna be ok." He said quietly.

"No it's _not_." Matt blubbered. "Johnny's in the hospital and I have n-no where to live."

"Woah, Johnny's in the hospital!" Quinn cried.

Kate nodded. "We picked Matt up from there- they let him go, but they wanted to keep Johnny overnight."

"I should have stayed with him- I wanted to, but his parents where there and they just kept giving me these looks like 'this is _your _fault. You made our son gay and now look what happened.'" He shook his head, lifting it up from the table. "And it's fucking true. It's all my fault and I- I just f-fucking-"

"It's not true, don't think that." Quinn said.

"Not about the turning him gay, no. But _I _was the one who came onto him in the first place. I initiated the relationship. And then today _I _invited him over and then I-"'

"Couldn't have known what would happen." Cam finished. "None of this was your fault. Look, I never even heard Johnny speak before you met him. He never smiled, he never spoke up in class, nothing. I guarantee you hitting on him was the best thing that ever happened to that guy."

* * *

"That boy is the _worst _thing that has ever happened to you." Cynthia Dixen said, pacing around her son's hospital room. "You are never seeing him again. Ever. _Never._ Do you hear me?"

Johnny just looked at his Mom, and said nothing. He knew he she wouldn't really hear anything he said until she stopped pacing.

"You've been acting differently since you met him." She continued. "You've been unfocused, you haven't been home, you're grades are slipping-"

"It was one test, Cynthia." His Dad cut in, trying to reason with her. He was sitting next to his bed, and seemed to be deep in thought. Johnny hadn't realized he'd even been listening. "And it was Math. Who cares about Math?"

"You're rooms been messy-" She continued, ignoring his father. "Not to mention your general appearance. Have you forgotten what a comb is? Is messy hair contagious? No, I don't like it. You've been different, and you've been spending all your time with _him_."

_I've been happy, _he thought. _For once._

"I don't like it." She repeated, finally coming to a halt. She put her hands on the foot of his bed, shaking her head. "Not at all."

She looked at him, and he saw tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry you don't like it." He said quietly.

He sat up further in his bed, wincing a bit. The doctors had given him something for the pain, but his ribs still ached horribly where Matt's uncle had kicked him. Luckily, he hadn't broken any ribs, and the doctors said he could go home the next day after he got some rest- something that was proving impossible as long as his mother stayed with him. "But I'm not going to stop seeing him."

She threw her arms up in the air. "Why? Why not? What is so special about him that you are willing to risk you're personal safety for?"

He sighed. "I'm not risking my personal safety- this was a freak incident that will never happen again, because Matt is never going back to those _people _ever again."

"Then where is he going to go, hmm?" She asked. "Because he is _not _staying with us, no sir."

"Cynthia..." He Dad said. "If he has no where else to go-"

"Richard!" She cried, looking at her husband like he'd gone mad. "How can you say that?"

"I'm not saying it's what I want, but what, would you send that boy back to live with the people that did this to our son? And you saw what they did to him, too."

"They don't want him back, anyways." Johnny added. "Not that I would let him go back, if they did. But they kicked him out."

"I'm sorry, but what _exactly _were you two doing that made them react like that?" His mother asked, taking a seat on the end of his bed. "What could have been so bad?"

"We could have been holding hands, and it wouldn't have mattered to them." He said sullenly. "Homosexuality is a sin."

His Dad shook his head. "I can't believe that. I can't believe someone could do that to their own flesh and blood."

His mother took his hand. "Johnny sweetie, you know we would never do something like that to you, right? No matter what you're going through now, or whatever you do in the future, we will _always _love you."

He smiled, ignoring the "what you're going through now" comment. Eventually she would come to understand that this wasn't a phase, but until that happened he knew she meant well. "I know, Mom."

She smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him on his forehead. "I guess- I mean if he _really _has no where else to go...he can stay with us." She said tensely.

He felt a sudden rush of excitement for a moment, as a montage of images flashes across his mind- waking up with Matt in the morning, eating breakfast with him, walking to school together- but it was gone a second later. Matt would probably be able to stay with one of his friends, and that would be better. He knew Matt would feel more comfortable staying in Cameron or Kate's house, and their parents would welcome him in eagerly. Still, they were nice images, and it was comforting to know that his Mother would let him stay with them, if it was necessary.

"I think he'll probably be able to stay with one of his friends." He said. "But thank you, anyways."

There was a knock on his door, and they turned as a nurse slowly opened the door to his room. "Hi, I'm sorry but visiting hours have been over for almost an hour, and he needs to get some sleep so-"

"Excuse me? I am his mother and if I want to keep him awake then I am bloody well going to." She snapped, glaring at the nurse. Johnny smile. His mother's tendency to use british terms when she got upset never failed to amuse him.

His father gave an apologetic look to the nurse, who looked a bit stunned. He turned to his wife. "Cynthia, I think if you go over what you just said in your head, you'll find some flaws in it."

She thought for a minute. "Was I british again?"

Johnny burst out laughing, unable to stop even though it hurt his sides. His mother smiled at him. "Alright, we'll let you get some rest." She finally relented.

His parents stood up to leave, telling him they'd be back for him around noon the next day.

"Wait a minute," He said, and they paused in the doorway. "Just so you know, the answer to your question is 'everything.'"

"What?" His mother asked.

"Before, when you asked what was so special about him. Everything." He said simply.

His mother gave him a tense smile. "Goodnight, Jonathan."

* * *

Quinn was pretty sure this was the closet she'd ever come to being in an orgy, and she had to say she really didn't care for it very much.

Alright, maybe "orgy" was going too far.

She, Kate, Matt and Cam were all lying together on Kate's bed, which really wasn't a bed big enough for four people. Matt was half on top of Cam, resting his head on his chest, and she and Kate were on either side of them. Cam had his arm around her, because there really wasn't any other place for his arm to go without smacking someone in the face.

Uncomfortable as she was, she didn't plan on saying a word because Matt had finally calmed down. He hadn't burst into tears for nearly a half an hour, and Quinn wasn't going to jinx that by moving. Even if she couldn't feel one of her legs anymore.

"Do you think he's thinking about me?" Matt asked quietly. "Do you think he's lonely?"

"He's probably asleep." Cam mumbled. "They give you wicked drugs at the hospital."

"Think he'll share?" Kate asked.

"Bitch, you're not taking my boyfriends medication from him." Matt muttered.

"Don't call her a bitch." Quinn said, closing her eyes. "Bitch."

Cam smiled sleepily. "I love my sassy gay friends."

* * *

**A/N: I promise to actually finish this story, and in a reasonable amount of time. However, I understand if you hate me.**


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

The next morning they piled into Kate's van and drove to the hospital. Matt jittered his leg up and down in the front seat, drumming his fingers on the container of brownies he was holding in his lap.

"You're sure the website said visiting hours start at 10:00 am, right? Not 11:00?" He asked.

"No." Kate replied. "I mean, I was sure the other 52 times you asked but this time no, I'm not. Hell, it might have even said 12:00. Who knows?"

Quinn saw Matt glare at her in the passenger side mirror. "You're not funny."

They got to the hospital and began navigating their way to Johnny's room. Matt seemed to be growing more and more nervous. "What if he's asleep? What if we're waking him up and disturbing him? Oh my god, why did we come so early?"

"It's fine, Matt." Cam said, putting his arm around his smaller friend. "Even if he's asleep, I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Yeah, he'll be thrilled to see the guy who's responsible for him getting the crap kicked out of him by a religious lunatic." Matt muttered, then looked terrified. "Oh my god, what if he hates me? What he breaks up with me? Cam what I do-"

"He's not going to break up with you." Quinn said, looking at the signs around the hospital and leading them down another hallway. "It'll be fine."

"This is it." Matt said suddenly, stopping them in front of a closed door. "Oh god. Oh jesus."

"You know, for someone who couldn't stand to look at a cross pendant yesterday, you're getting awfully religious now." Quinn said. She put her hand on the door knob, and opened it slowly.

Johnny looked up when they entered, and wide smile spread across his face. "Matt!" He said excitedly, sitting up. He winced, but continued to smile.

"Hey sweetie." Matt said, rushing over to his boyfriend. He tossed the brownie container onto the table beside Johnny's bed and leaned down to give him a hard kiss. Johnny put one had up into Matt's tangled hair, kissing him back just as hard.

Cam, Kate and Quinn exchanged glances, standing around awkwardly.

Matt pulled away from Johnny, and then proceeded to burst into tears. "I-I-I'm s-s-so _sorry!_" He cried, burying his face against Johnny's shoulder. Johnny shot an alarmed glance at Cam. Cam shrugged.

"Hey, it's alright." Johnny said, lifting Matt's face up and cupping his chin in his hand. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is." Matt whimpered. "It's all my fault."

"None of it's your fault." Johnny said firmly. He moved his hand up to Matt's bruised cheek, his eyebrows knitting together miserably. "Does this hurt?"

Matt shrugged. "It's not too bad."

Johnny pulled Matt back down, kissing him again. "I'm so glad you're all right. I was so scared." He shook his head. "You have no idea- when he hit you, god. It was awful."

Quinn reached for Kate's hand next to her. Tears were welling up in Johnny's eyes, and she was pretty sure that it was going to make her cry too.

"You're the one who got put in the hospital, and you were scared for _me?_" Matt whispered. "Where are your priorities, John Dixen?"

"I would have taken a thousand more kicks in the ribs if it meant he didn't touch you." Johnny said. "My priorities are right where they should be."

That was it. Quinn bit down her lip, trying to keep quiet as the tears fell from her eyes.

"Oh no, don't cry Quinny." Kate whispered, brushing a tear off her cheek. "If you cry, I'm going to cry and I won't be able to stop."

Despite what she said, Quinn saw there were already tears in her eyes, and she wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

Quinn looked over at Cam, expecting him to make some comment about them being such girls, but she saw he was crying a little too. She grabbed his arm and pulled him over, adding him to her and Kate's hug.

Matt laughed a little at them. "Great now we're all crying like little bitches." He said, wiping tears from his eyes.

* * *

With everything that happened with Matt, Quinn really didn't think she could be blamed for forgetting that she had something else important to do that week. She spent most of her time texting Kate, asking her what was happening, if Matt was alright, what was Johnny doing and so on.

They'd already decided that Matt would live with Kate, because she had three spare bedrooms that could be used. Monday, Kate and Cam had gone to Matt's aunt and uncles apartment while they were out and gotten Matt's things. They'd also broken three lamps in revenge.

Quinn went over to Kate's house about everyday after school to help comfort Matt, who was given to random outbursts of tears, often followed by fits of anger where he hated everything and everyone (then more crying, because he felt bad for all the yelling). They'd figured out that these tended to occur more frequently when he was left by himself, and so she Kate and Cam all took turns cuddling with him on a rotating basis. They kept him occupied, watching countless movies and TV shows and spending hours playing Mortal Combat, which Quinn had found she was actually very good at.

So Thursday morning when she went to school, she'd completely forgotten that she had anything else to do after school until Santana reminded her.

"How are Sam and Kurt?" She asked, taking a seat across from her at lunch. "They must be crazy nervous about today."

Quinn furrowed her brow. "Why would they be nervous?"

"Uh, because they're going on trial." Santana said, cocking her eyebrow at Quinn. "Duh."

_The trial! _Quinn couldn't believe she'd forgotten. Oh god, was that today?

Santana shook her head. "I can't believe you forgot. I mean, like how often does this shit happen?"

Quinn glared. "Sorry, I have a lot of other things going on right now." She said cooly.

"Hey guys." Finn said, coming over to their table with Rachel. "How's it going?"

"Quinn forgot about the trial today." Santana said instantly. Quinn glared at her.

"I have a lot of other stuff going on." Quinn said through gritted teeth. "I didn't _forget_, it just...temporarily slipped my mind."

Finn scratched his head. "Isn't that like...exactly what forgetting means?"

"No! Well, yes...but it's different." She said, running her fingers through her hair. "Alright fine, I _forgot_ is everyone happy now?"

"Your memory loss doesn't affect my emotions Quinn, so no." Rachel said. "However, now that you've remembered, will you be coming with us to the court house? We're going back to my house after school, so we can all go over together."

Quinn nodded. "I suppose." She didn't really want to go to Rachel's house, but she didn't want to figure out her own way to the court house either. Besides, she was pretty sure the trial was at 4:00, so it would only be for about an hour.

"My Mom's gonna pick us up on her way back from work, and we'll go together." Finn said. "Kurt stayed home today, so he and Burt are getting there on their own. I think they're with Sam and his Mom, actually 'cause staying home was her idea."

Quinn nodded, and smiled a little. She'd always liked Sam's Mom.

The others began eating lunch, and Quinn took out her cellphone and sent a message to Kate saying she wouldn't be coming over today, due to the trial.

**Geez was that today? It completely slipped my mind. Wow **Kate replied.

Quinn beamed a little at the phone. There, she wasn't a terrible person. It was totally understandable that she'd forgotten.

* * *

Rachel's house was very big, and very dramatically decorated. There were red velvet curtains everywhere, and a large painting of Rachel hung in the hallway. Quinn was kind of creeped out, and when no one was looking she took a picture of the painting with her cellphone and sent it to Kate.

"Come in this way everyone." Rachel said, ushering them through the halls into her living room. "Would anyone like some refreshments? I um, think we have some crackers."

Brittany clapped. "I _love _crackers."

Rachel nodded, and went off to get the snack for Brittany.

"They're crunchy and crumbly, but they get all soft in your mouth." Brittany said dreamily. Santana smiled a little at her.

"Crackers are pretty sweet." Finn agreed.

Quinn wondered if this was how it was going to be for the next hour, because she wasn't sure she was going to be able to come up with something to say about crackers to contribute to the conversation. "Can we change the subject?" She blurted. "I mean, to something we can all talk about."

"What, crackers aren't a stimulating enough topic for you, Q?" Santana asked.

"No, not really."

"Um, can someone help me?" Rachel called from the hallway. Finn got up and left the room, and a moment later they both came back in, each carrying a large silver tray.

"Alright so we have Brittany's crackers," Rachel said, pointing to a delicately arranged display of crackers on one tray. "As well as an assortment of fruits and dippable veggies."

"What kind of dip is it?" Santana asked, eyeing the trays warily.

"The green one is a spinach dip, and the white-ish one is low-fat ranch."

Santana nodded. "Alright, I'll have some."

"Dees crackers awe awwweeefum." Brittany said, her mouth stuffed full of crackers. She swallowed with a large gulp. "Ritz, right?" Rachel nodded. "I can tell."

Quinn lay back on Rachel's couch, thinking this was going to be a very long hour.

* * *

At quarter to 4:00, Finn's mother picked them up from Rachel's house, and they drove to the courthouse together.

The courthouse, it turned out, was not so much a courthouse as it was an administrative building for the school district. Brittany was disappointed. "I really wanted to see those guys with the long white hair and black robes." She pouted. "But this doesn't look like where they live."

A women with a neat bun greeted them, and led them down a hallway and into a small room where they were instructed to wait.

After a few minutes, a man in a suit came in, and introduced himself as Sam and Kurt's lawyer. His name was Harvey Flynn, a name Quinn found inexplicably amusing. Harvey Flynn had come to get Carole, because the trial was about to start.

"Wait you mean the rest of us can't go in there?" Finn demanded, jumping to his feet.

"I'm afraid not," Harvey Flynn said. Quinn's jaw tightened, as she contemplated waiting out the entire trial in this room. "You are the witnesses, and you will be called in if and when we require your testimonies." Harvey Flynn and Carole left, and Finn crossed his arms, fuming.

"This is bullshit." Finn said, kicking over a chair. "He's my brother, I should be in there!"

"Finn sweetie, this really isn't the place for property destruction. It's sort of like a court." Rachel piped in.

"Please." Santana snorted. "This is nothing like a real court. This is pathetic, wannabe school court. If this court were to go to it's grandmothers house for Friday night dinner, it would have to sit at the kiddie table."

Quinn laughed, having to agree with Santana.

"When I go to my grandma's house for dinner, I have to sit at my own table. They call it the safety zone." Brittany said.

"Irregardless." Rachel said. "We should just all keep calm, and wait to be called in."

"Ok. Fine. I will." Finn said, sitting back down. He stared at the clock in the middle of the room, watching the second hand tick away 30 seconds, then 45, then a minute. "Oh my god, this is _endless!_" He screamed, throwing his hands in the air.

Because Finn's shouting didn't seem to be making time move faster, the rest of the them waited quietly.

Quinn spent most of her time texting Kate, who was worried about Johnny. He had gone over to her house to visit Matt, and apparently was not crying, which to Kate was a terrible thing. To her, not crying meant he was keeping all the negative emotions she was sure he had bottled up, and was probably going to snap at some point and axe murder them all.

A few people burst into the room during different points of their waiting, needing a break from the court happenings. The first was Sam's Mother and Kurt's Father, both of whom looked like they would love to be doing their own axe murdering.

"What happened? Did we lose?" Finn asked, jumping out of his seat.

Burt shook his head, taking a seat. "Trials just starting. Mr. Flynn gave his opening statement or whatever, and now that Josh kid is speaking on behalf of that group of assholes."

"I couldn't sit there and listen to it." Lina said, shaking her head. "Not without screaming or something."

"What was he saying?" Quinn asked, putting away her phone.

"When we left he was somehow connecting Sam and Kurt, and all homosexuals, to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the recession." She said bitterly.

"That's the stupidest things I've ever heard." Brittany commented.

Quinn narrowed her eyes angrily. She should have murdered Josh when she'd had the chance.

"Kid has this goddamned smug look on his face, makes me wanna..." Burt broke off and mimed strangling someone.

"What it makes me want to do involves a straight razor and a blow torch, and I'm pretty sure just telling you about it is a federal offence." Lina said.

Finn gave her a frightened look, and began to inch away from where she was sitting.

"Are you guys allowed to leave?" Rachel asked. "Shouldn't you be in there?"

Burt nodded. "Carole's still there, and we're going back in...soon."

"I just thought we needed a breather." Lina said. They stayed in the room for a few more minutes before getting up and quietly leaving.

After they left, Finn looked around. "Am I the only one a little terrified of Sam's mom?" He asked nervously.

An hour later, Kurt himself came through the door looking as though he was about to cry.

"Dude what happened?" Finn asked. He'd been pacing around the room when Kurt had come in, but he stopped and went over to his brother, who collapsed in a seat next to Rachel.

"Nothing, nothing." Kurt said, pressing his thumb and index finger against his eyes. "I just had to tell them all about being inside that dumpster and it wasn't fun." He said.

Rachel leaned over and hugged him tightly. Finn knelt down next to his chair and put his arms around him as well, and Quinn went over as well. Brittany and Santana followed her lead.

"Kurt, are you ok?" Sam asked, storming into the room. They broke their hug apart and Kurt stood up.

Sam wrapped his arms around Kurt, hugging him tightly, and although Kurt insisted that he was "fine" she could tell he was holding back some serious tears. As Sam hugged him, Kurt gave in and sobbed, pressing his face into Sam's shoulder. Her heart broke a little, and not for the first time she wished there was more she could do for them.

Eventually Kurt stopped crying and moved out of Sam's arms. "Were you allowed to leave?" Kurt asked, wiping the tears off his face.

Sam shrugged. "I'm sure it was fine."

"Sam what the heck are you doing!" Shouted Harvey Flynn, crashing through the doors. "I told you to stay put!"

Sam looked unconcerned, and simply moved closer to Kurt. "I couldn't."

"Well you have to come back in, and Kurt as well. They're allowed to question you now."

"Question him? What are they going to ask? If he secretly invented the atomic bomb as well?" Sam screamed. Kurt looked pale, and Quinn told herself that punching Harvey Flynn in the face, grabbing Sam and Kurt and making a dash for it would be inappropriate.

"If their questions seem irrelevant or if they badger him, I will object." Mr. Flynn said, trying to usher them out of the room.

"Come on, can't you leave him alone?" Finn asked.

"No, unfortunately this is necessary." Harvey Flynn said. "I'm sorry Kurt, but it will be over soon and you'll never have to see them again, alright?"

Kurt nodded slowly, and he and Sam followed Harvey Flynn back out of the room.

"I'm going to throw something." Finn said, crashing down in the chair Kurt had just occupied. "This chair. I'm going to pick it up and throw it at that wall." Finn said, pointing to the wall across from him.

"And what will that solve?" Quinn asked, taking her phone back out. She needed to vent.

"Everything. If I throw this chair, everything will be better and we can all go home." Finn sighed.

"Do it." Brittany said eagerly. "I want to go home, and I think Kurt does too."

"I was being facetious, Brittany." Finn said, then looked at Rachel. "Right?"

She nodded happily, and Quinn rolled her eyes.

The next time someone came into the room, it was to call Santana out to be deposed, something that Brittany found incredibly distressing. They explained to Brittany that being deposed was different from being _disposed. _She nodded, and as Santana left, advised her to plead insanity.

Quinn fiddled with her cellphone, wishing it was her that had been called in. All this waiting was driving her nuts. She flipped her phone open, hoping she wasn't annoying Kate with all these texts.

* * *

Kate smiled, and opened up another text message from Quinn.

"What's she want _now?_" Matt asked, looking up from his sketch pad. "Isn't it over yet?"

Kate glared at him. "I am sorry if my girlfriend's desire to talk to me is _bothering _you Mathew, but that's just the way it is." She said haughtily.

"Oh it's not her," Matt replied. "It's the annoying _beeping _sound your phone makes. I can't take it anymore."

"Well I can turn that off you know. All you have to do is ask-"

"I've asked three times!"

"And now it's done." Kate replied, turning her phone to vibrate. She smiled at him. "See how that works?"

Matt shook his head at her, and went back to sketching his boyfriend, who had fallen asleep on Kate's couch. Johnny was the type of person who could sleep through a Metallica concert.

"So what's the fairest maiden in the land saying now?" Cam asked, putting the game he was playing on pause.

Kate frowned, looking at the message. "It says 'save me.' What do you think that means?"

Cam thought for a minute. "Probably that she wants you to save her."

Kate tossed a pillow at him. "Yeah but from _what?_"

"Why don't you _ask?_" Matt mumbled.

Kate pretended to look shocked. "And miss out on all the fun we have analyzing everything she says?"

Matt shook his head, not looking up from his sketch. "I wonder if Quinn knows what a creep she has for a girlfriend."

"Says the person sketching his sleeping boyfriend." Kate muttered, sending her reply to Quinn.

"What's wrong with that? He's mine now, sketching him while he sleeps is totally allowed!"

"Does he know about all the sketches you made of him _before _you were together?" Cam asked, going over to where Matt was sitting and looking at his drawing.

"Of course not." Matt replied. "And he's not going to."

"Tsk tsk." Kate said. "A relationship should not be built on lies."

"I'm not _lying, _exactly." Matt insisted. "If he ever comes up to me and says 'Matt, before we were together did you ever spend full classes memorizing the lines of my face so you could draw them out later?' I would tell him the truth."

Kate's phone buzzed, and she took it out.

**FROM: MY GIRLFRIEND/5:51 PM: Boredom, mostly. Santana was just called in to be deposed, and I can't take sitting here anymore. Rachel won't stop humming to herself, and Brittany's all freaked out about Santana being gone and won't stop talking about cat diseases. So boredom and insanity. And myself, because I am about to murder everyone. That's only against the law sometimes, right? **

Kate frowned, and began to type a reply.

**TO: MY GIRLFRIEND/5:52 PM: Im pretty sure its illegal all the time, but let me get back to you on that. Try not to go crazy, itll be over soon. Do you think we should do something for Sam+Kurt when this is over? Have like a party maybe? Itll be nice for them, and itll give you something to look forward to. **

"Matt would you be ok if I had a party tomorrow, for Sam and Kurt?" Kate asked, wondering if she _before _she sent that message to Quinn. Ah well.

Mat shrugged. "Sure, I guess. They could probably use one."

"Hmmm..." Johnny said, stirring on the couch. Matt froze, and clutched his sketchbook as Johnny woke up, and looked at him. He furrowed his brow. "Were you drawing me while I was asleep?" He asked. Kate and Cam tried not to laugh.

"Uuuhh..." Matt stammered. "No?" Johnny raised an eyebrow and Matt hung his head. "...Yes."

Johnny laughed, and put his hand under Matt's chin, lifting it back up. "You're adorable." He said, leaning forward and kissing him. Matt flushed, for the first time ever feeling happy at being called _adorable_.

"I'm so glad you think that." Matt said, kissing him back.

"Because most people would think 'creepy.'" Cam said. Matt held up the middle finger, continuing to his kiss boyfriend.

* * *

Santana came back, and shortly after, the trial was over. Honestly, Quinn was a little pissed that she hadn't gotten called in. All that waiting for nothing.

Sam, Kurt, Carole and Kurt's Dad and Sam's Mom came back into the room, but they only stayed for a few minutes before Harvey Flynn came in, telling them the jury had come to a decision. So they filed back out.

"This is so stupid." Santana said, as the door shut behind them. She looked at the door for a minute, and seemed to come to some sort of decision. "Fuck this, let's go see what's happening." She said, striding out of the room.

Quinn and the rest of them followed her instantly. Even Rachel was sick of waiting. Once out of the room, they looked around a bit until Brittany spotted a door with a sign that read "court in progress."

Being as quiet as possible, they snuck over to the door and opened it just a crack. The court room was small, and with a miniature bench at the front. The jury was sitting on folding chairs off to the side, and Sam and Kurt sat together at one of the tables near the front. On the other side of the room sat Josh, Jamie, Azimio and Karofsky.

The man at the bench stood up now, preparing to give the verdict. "Having carefully viewed the evidence presented by both sides, and I use that phrase lightly when referring to the defence, " He said, eyeing Karofsky and company. "The school board representatives have determined that students Granell, Azimio, Karofsky and Babbit are to be expelled from William Mckinley High School and barred from all other schools under this district, for unseemly conduct and the willful and malicious harassment of Kurt Hummel. Considering their lack of evidence and gross misconduct in court, I have not seen fit to grant the opportunity for an appeal."

Josh stood up at the announcement, shouting angrily.

"He said expelled right? And barred? Like I never have to see them again?" Kurt said, his voice full of disbelief.

"Never again, baby." Sam replied, leaning in to kiss him. This inspired more shouts from Josh.

Slowly, they let the door close, and looked around at each other. Finn smiled widely, and jumped up in the air. "Hell yeah!" He yelled, pumping his fist. Rachel jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. He put his arms around her waist, holding her tightly as he kissed her back.

Around her, Brittany was dancing with Santana, lifting up her friends arms and swinging herself under them. Santana smiled fondly at the dancing blond.

Quinn took out her cellphone and texted Kate, wishing she was with her. It would be easier to jump around and cheer like her friends if she was.

**TO: KATE S./6:29 PM: We won. **

**FROM: KATE S./6:29 PM: OMGASDFGHJKL;'! That's WUNDERFUL! :D Hug Sam and Kurt for me! And jump around a little, you know you want to! Am I using too much exclamation points? !**

Quinn laughed, feeling a little bit less lonely.

Sam and Kurt came out of the court room, and were instantly attacked by Finn who continued jumping around and performing air guitar.

"Congratulations." Quinn said, hugging them both. She then hugged them again. "That second one was from Kate." She said, smiling to herself. "Also, she's having a party for you guys tomorrow."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?"

"Why are you saying 'no' to a party?" Kurt asked, ruffling Sam's hair. "We deserve to celebrate!"

"Mostly I think she just likes throwing parties." Quinn said, shrugging. "But I think everything you guys were going through sort of reminded her of what she went through at her old school, so I think she's living vicariously through your victory."

Down the hall, Finn shouted randomly that he knew that word. Apparently "vicarious" was last Wednesday's word on his "Word of the Day" calender.

* * *

Sam's mother and Kurt's father took them all to breadsticks to celebrate, and Santana and Brittany got themselves invited to Kate's party.

"I still don't see why they need to come," Quinn said later that night, talking to Kate on the phone.

"They don't. I said 'invite whoever you want.'" Kate replied. "If you didn't want them, you did _not _have to invite them."

"Yes I did." She muttered. "Brittany was all 'I love parties. They never have clowns anymore, which is great.' How can I say no to that?"

Kate laughed. "Ah Susie Q, you old softie."

Quinn smiled, and began filling Kate in on the details of the trial that she'd extracted from Sam and Kurt. In the morning she would wake up with a phone shaped impression on cheek, having fallen asleep talking to her.

* * *

**A/N: So, I hated writing this chapter the first time around, in Everything, and guess what it sucked just as much now. I cause my own problems, I know**.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Kind of short, but I'm getting tired of re-writing things I've already written. Going to wrap things up soon, because it's been long enough. **

Chapter 17:

That friday night, Quinn went over to Kate's house again, but this time she was accompanied by Sam, Kurt, Rachel, Finn, Santana, Brittany, Artie, James, Puck, Mercedes, Mike and Tina.

Kate, who'd been under the impression that they were unpopular, was a little surprised. After she'd figured out if everyone had a designated driver (Puck had brought a cooler full of alcohol) and warned them about Matt and not to say anything, they went inside.

Quinn waited for everyone else to walk into the house, before hanging back to give Kate a kiss hello. "Hello." She said, smiling.

"Hello." Kate replied. She kissed her again. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Quinn said. "Text messages are just not the same as the real deal."

Kate grinned. "We should go in," She said, looking like she really didn't want to. "Joss, Matt and Cam are playing and they won't bother to say hello unless we tell them too."

Quinn shook her head. "Boys. No manners." Kate laughed, and they walked into her living room together.

"You guys, unplug and come say hello!" Kate called over the music.

They stopped playing, and Quinn thought she heard Kurt gasp when Matt turned around. He had a purple eyepatch on, but the bruise still took up almost the entire right side of his face. Kurt was still looking stunned when Cameron went over and congratulated him on the court win.

Matt went over as well, and shook Kurt's hand. "It's nice to know that justice occasionally triumphs over homophobia." He commented. Behind him, Johnny put his arms around him, placing a kiss behind his ear. He too offered his congratulations.

As Finn, Artie and Puck took over the instruments, Quinn went and sat with Johnny and Matt, who were cuddling on the couch. "How was the trial?" Johnny asked.

"Boring." Quinn said. "Well, I don't know about the actual _trial, _but what I was doing was boring."

"Sitting around in a room watching that Finn guy pretend he wasn't checking out the cheerleaders?" Matt asked.

Quinn raised an eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

Matt shrugged, looking away.

Quinn's eyes narrowed. "Kate read you my texts, didn't she."

Johnny smiled a little, as Matt continued to try and look innocent. "I'm sure if they'd said anything personal, she wouldn't have." He offered.

Quinn shook her head. "Must to have a talk with her..."

"Don't be mad, Quinn." Matt said. "We tell each other everything."

"Yeah." Johnny said. He paused a moment, seeming to consider what that meant. "Wait, not _everything _right?"

Matt looked at him and nodded. "Yeah, everything."

He looked dismayed. "Like about us?"

Matt shrugged. "Yeah."

Quinn tried not to snicker as the Johnny's mouth hung open a little. Matt was still obviously not seeing the problem.

"Even- even the, you know-" He glanced at Quinn, and lowered his voice. "Intimate stuff?"

Matt bit his lip, laughing a little. "'Intimate stuff?'"

Johnny set his jaw. "You _know _what I mean."

"I do, it's just a funny way to put it."

"Matt this isn't funny-"

"It's kind of funny." Quinn commented.

"Johnny calm down!" Matt said, laughing. He got up on his knees, so he could be eye-level with Johnny, and put his hands on his boyfriend's shoulders, smiling at him. _"No _I don't tell them the _intimate stuff_. No details, anyways._"_

"What then?"

Matt leaned in, and lowered his voice. "All I told then was how when you make love to me, it's like no one else ever has." He whispered. "Everything else- the _heat _of your body, the touch of your fingers..." He leaned in further, brushing his lips over Johnny's. "The way you stay in me even after we're done, holding me close and breathing against my neck...I keep it to myself." He looked at him, their faces barely an inch apart. "All of that is just for us..."

He swallowed, and glanced to the side a bit. "And now Quinn, I guess."

Johnny leaned around Matt a bit, and looked at Quinn as though he'd forgotten she was there. She smiled brightly and waved. Kate was right. This was pretty hot.

Kate smiled, and brushed a piece of Quinn's blond hair off her face as she slept. They'd spent the night together again, for only the second time in their relationship. This was the third time they'd woken up together (granted, they'd been in different beds the first time) but watching Quinn sleep never ceased to be breathtaking. For about the 394th time in their relationship, Kate had to pinch herself in order to be assured that this wasn't a dream, and she hadn't created Quinn in her head.

As she gazed, Quinn's lips turned up into a slight smile, although her eyes remained closed. "You're such a creeper," She mumbled.

Kate offered her a sheepish grin as she eventually opened her eyes. "Sorry, you're just so creepable- I can't help it." She ran her fingers threw a strand of Quinn's hair, leaning in to kiss her. Morning breath be damned.

Quinn kissed her back, putting her hand on her bare back, and pulling her in close. "Guess it's _my _turn to creep on you then, hmm?"

Kate shivered, as Quinn trailed her fingers down her back and around to her stomach. She tried to remember words, and how to put them together to express things, but it just wasn't happening. "Mmm-" Was the best she managed.

"Kate, it's morning and you're not making pancakes!" Matt whined, barging into her room. Both girls screamed and dove under the covers, and Matt screamed louder and turned around quickly, smashing into the door frame. "Arrgg!"

"What are you doing in here!" Kate demanded, hiding under the covers. Quinn was hiding her face in hands, but Kate could see her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in her laughter.

"I wanted pancakes!" They heard Matt groan. He sounded like he was in pain.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?" Quinn asked, peaking her head above the covers to make sure Matt was alright. He was sitting on the floor, rubbing a spot on his forehead, but otherwise appeared undamaged.

He glared at her. "I didn't think I would be interrupting anything at 10 in the morning. "

"Please," Kate muttered, sticking her head out as well. "You of all people-"

"Hey, I heard screams," Johnny said, appearing in the doorway as well. "Are you alright?"

"Arrgg!" Quinn and Kate shouted together, diving back under the covers.

"What's going on?" He asked, presumably to Matt.

"I saw Kate's breasts." Matt said morosely. He sniffed.

"Wah-"

Under the covers, Quinn snickered. Kate scrunched up her face. "Get _out!_"

Half an hour later, Quinn and Kate went downstairs and found Matt, Johnny, and Cameron sitting at the kitchen table, eating pancakes. Kate raised her eyebrows, and Cam nodded towards the other side of the kitchen, where Joss was cleaning up. "Turns out he can make pancakes too."

"See, you're replaceable." Joss said. "I'd watch out."

Kate stuck her tongue out, and she and Quinn took a seat, carefully avoiding eye contact with Matt and Johnny.

Cameron looked back and forth at the two couples, feeling a bit dismayed. "You guys aren't gonna let this be super awkward or something, are you?"

"Nah," Johnny said, waving his hand. "They're fine, obviously."

Matt sighed. He forced himself to look at Kate. "Katelyn, I'm really sorry that I didn't knock. It was rude, and I promise it will _never _happen again."

Kate smiled, and stood up, going over to Matt and giving him a hug. "You're forgiven." She said. "And in return, I'm sorry you had to see my boobies."

Matt nodded solemnly. "I appreciate that."

Quinn scoffed. "Why apologize? He should feel privileged- you have lovely boobies."

Kate beamed, and every male in the room made a face.

Johnny stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting for Sam to open the door. He felt uncomfortable, going to someone he barely knew to talk, but he thought that if he didn't talk about it with _someone _he was going to explode.

Sam opened the door with a huge smile on his face, which fell immediately upon seeing him. Johnny figured he'd probably been hoping it was Kurt. "Try not to look too disappointed."

"I'm not..." Sam said, not sounding particularly convincing. "I'm confused though...what are you doing here?"

He sighed. "I needed to talk to someone...anyone, about what happened to Matt…" He trailed off. He was already begining to regret this decision- he didn't know Sam, Sam didn't know him...this was weird. He was weird, for being here. He should make up an excuse, and leave. If he wanted someone to talk to, he was just going to have to suck it up and make a friend.

Unfortunately, that's something he'd never quite been able to manage in his 17 years (though he thought he could be forgiven for the first three).

From inside Sam's house, Johnny heard a women's voice ask who was at the door.

"My friend Johnny." Sam called back. Johnny felt his eyebrows go up in surprise, and his heart did an embarrassing little leap. Sam considered him a friend?

This was something.

A women with light brown hair and Sam's green eyes walked into the room, holding a portable phone. "Who?" She asked.

"Kate's friend Matt's boyfriend." He explained

The woman, whom he was assuming was Sam's mother, smiled brightly at him. "Oh...hi Johnny- please tell me at some point someone took advantage of this situation and sang 'Johnny are you Queer'?"

He smiled, and nodded. "Kate did, right before Matt and I started going out. I hadn't heard that song before, I just overheard her singing the words '_Johnny are you queer'_ to Quinn...I thought she was making fun of me or something..."

"Are you staying for dinner, Johnny?" She asked. "We were just going to order a pizza..."

He shook his head. "No, I just wanted to talk to Sam about something."

She nodded, and went back to wherever she'd been before. Johnny followed Sam upstairs to his room, and took a seat on the edge of Sam's bed. He rested his elbows on his knees, holding his head in his hands. He felt almost constantly exhausted lately.

"So, uh, no offence man but why me?" Sam asked, shutting his bedroom door.

He sighed again. "I needed to talk to someone..." He said slowly. "And I thought you would understand."

"What, what it's like to get punched in the face?" He asked, bringing a chair over by his bed and sitting down.

He raised his eyebrows, unable to tell is Sam was joking or not. "No, what it's like to watch the person you love get thrown around, and not be able to do anything about it-" His voice cracked, and he swallowed thickly, willing himself not to cry in front of Sam, because guys just weren't supposed to cry in front of other guys. Matt always said that was ridiculous, but then it always took _him _at least an hour to express his feelings as well.

"Oh...yeah." Sam said quietly. He shifted around uncomfortably on his chair. "Johnny, what happened?"

He looked up, surprised. It hadn't occurred to him that Sam had no idea what had occurred between Matt and his aunt and uncle. But he suppose it made sense that he wouldn't- he didn't think Sam was very close with Kate, and Quinn had never struck him as a sharer. "Well...I suppose you don't know, but Matt's parents died when he was like 6, and he's been living with his aunt and uncle ever since."

Sam's eyes bugged a little. "Wow...no, I didn't know that."

"Yeah, he doesn't talk about it much. Or at all." He said. Inwardly, he'd always liked that Matt was such a private person- it made him feel good when Matt finally let him in. "Anyways, his aunt and uncle...they didn't know that he was gay," He continued. "I think that was part of the reason he always said he was bisexual, not gay...so that if they ever found out, it wouldn't seem too bad." He swallowed, the thick feeling coming back to his throat. He forced himself to continue. "But um, the 'no, it's ok I'm attracted to girls too' argument is a difficult one to make when they walk in on you with your head between another guys legs..." He said, breaking down again. He could see it all again in his head- the fury in Matt's uncle, the horror on Matt's face...

"Oh fuck, man I'm sorry..." Sam said. He moved next to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

He wiped his eyes, and continued in a thick voice. "His uncle grabbed him off of me, and picked me up and threw me on the ground...he started kicking me..." He said, lifting up his shirt a little to show Sam the bruises and scars along his chest.

Sam sucked his breath in, his eyes once again wide.

"When he was going in on me, Matt tried to pull him off...and that was when he hit him." He mumbled, trying desperately to stop the tears flowing from his eyes. No matter how fast he wiped them away, they just kept coming. Eventually he gave in, and let himself cry for the first time. "It was horrible, like fucking slow motion. He's so small...you know? He doesn't like to admit it but he's fragile...his whole body just twisted backwards and he crashed down...his nose was broken and there was blood everywhere...and I couldn't move." He sobbed. "I was in so much pain, I thought I was going to pass out...I just watched him, lying there bleeding...if his uncle had started kicking _him_ I would have been able to do fuck all about it."

"What happened then?" Sam asked, barely breathing.

"Nothing, he grabbed Matt's aunt, shouted that he had 30 minutes to gather up his faggy possession and get the fuck out of his apartment, and they left. When I thought I could move again, I picked Matt up and drove straight to the hospital." He finished. "Matt's been staying at Kate's...he's more comfortable with her parents then mine. They've you know, accepted us and stuff but...I still think they're hoping it's a phase."

"Jesus, Johnny, I'm sorry...you're right, I know how awful that helpless feeling can be..." Sam said,"It's like a black hole opened up in your stomach and just swallowed up all your guts."

He nodded. That sound all too familiar. "Basically." He muttered. "I just...did we choose this, Sam?" He asked, hoping Sam didn't get offended. "I mean...when we chose to date Matt and Kurt...is this what we signed up for? A life of watching the people we love get beat up, of getting beat up ourselves...carrying our bleeding boyfriends into the emergency room, and standing trial because homophobic assholes tried to drown them in a dumpster?"

Sam sighed. "You can't think about it like that...but no, that's not what I chose. I didn't choose anything, actually...it's just the way things are. If I could go back, to the first day I kissed Kurt...knowing everything that was going to happen, and how difficult things were going to be...I would still do it. Every time."

Sam's words sunk in slowly, and Johnny thought back to the night of Kate's party, when Matt had led him by the hand up to her bedroom. He'd been so nervous- Matt had always seemed so elusive to him- brilliant and talented...and so beautiful. He couldn't believe it when he told him that poem he'd read in class had been about him- there was no way someone like _Matt _would ever be interested into someone as boring and average as _him. _But he had been. Everything had changed since that night- his whole boring, predicable world had been turned upside and thrown out in exchange for a glimpse of the colourful one in which Matt and his friends lived.

He looked at Sam and nodded. No matter how terrible things got, he wouldn't give up Matt for anything.

"So there you go..." Sam said. "Neither of us had any choice in the matter. And sure, things are hard...impossible at times...but it's worth it. Worth it because no matter what happens, I still get to be with Kurt. They can beat me up, and throw me to the ground and make really uncomfortable comments about my mouth, but at the end of the day if I can still hold Kurt in my arms, none of it matters." He said simply.

Johnny nodded again. "You're right. I can do this...right?" He said, looking to Sam for confirmation.

"Do you love Matt?" Sam asked.

Johnny nodded, and despite himself found a smile forming on his lips. "I never thought I would, you know...love someone. I'd had crushes before, on guys...but I never really thought I'd find someone I could love...and who would love me back. I sort of thought I'd just go through life how you were supposed to...I'd get a job, marry a girl because I wasn't going to be in love no matter what, so what would be the point of causing a big ruckus by announcing I was gay? I had a very calm, boring life mapped out..." He grinned and shook his head. "Matt basically fucked that up...he's like a sparkler...I know that doesn't make sense...but it's just how I've always thought about him."

Sam smiled, and gave him a knowing look. "Well my friend, it doesn't really matter whether or not you can do it, because it doesn't sound like you've got a choice either. But I have a feeling you'll be ok."


End file.
